IC-NRLF 


E33 


IBIE 

^^H»Pi 


GIFT  OF 


STORIES  OF  THE  BIBLE 


THE  PEOPLE 

OK   THE 

CHOSEN  LAND 


BY 

MYLES    ENDICOTT 


ILLUSTRATIONS   FROM    DORK     AND   OTHER    EMINENT   ARTISTS 


VOLUME  I. 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

BOSTON 
NEW  YORK        CHICAGO        SAN  FRANCISCO 


COPYRIGH'^ED 

By   EDUCATIONAL   IVr.I.ISHING   COMPANY 
1897 


CREATION    OF    LIGHT 


CREATION    OF  THE    Sf.N    AND    MOON. 


STORIES  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


THE  CREATION. 

Many,  many  years  ago  there  was  no  earth. 
There  were  no  plants,  nor  animals ;  no  sun ; 
no  moon  ;  neither  were  there  any  people. 

All  was  darkness. 

Then  God  looked  into  the  darkness  and 
said,  "  Let  there  be  light."  And  light  came. 
And  out  of  the  new  light  God  created  the  blue 


.    STORIES.  OF   THE   BIBLE. 


sky,  the  deep  sea,  the  beautiful  ^rass-covered 
earth,  the  plants,  the  trees,  and  the  many- 
colored  flowers. 


i  HE  uui.vno.N  UK  ANIMALS.      (Raphael.} 

And  in  the  blue  sky  he  placed  the  golden 
sun,  the  silver  moon,  and  the  stars  that  shine 
like  jewels  in  the  sky. 

Then,  in  the  water  he  placed  the  fishes  ; 


STORIES  OF   THE  BIBLE.  9 

on  the  earth,  the  animals ;  and  in  the  tree  tops 
the  birds  sang  their  praises. 

"  This  shall  be  for  a  home  for  man,"  the 
Creator  said  ;  and  so,  one  morning,  there  woke 
to  life  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  a  man  and 
woman  -  -  beautiful  and  good  and  pure. 

To  the  animals  God  had  given  strength 
and  speed,  and  fur  for  protection  from  the 
wind  and  rain.  To  the  birds  he  had  given 
plumage,  brilliant  and  warm.  To  the  fishes, 
fins  and  scales. 

Then  man  came ;  and  to  him  was  given 
intelligence,  and  reason,  and  power  to  grow  in 
wisdom;  for  by  these  was  he  to  protect  himself 
from  the  elements  and  gain  dominion  over  all 
the  earth, —  the  fishes,  the  birds,  and  the 
animals  thereof. 

Then  God  blessed  everything  he  had 
made  ;  for  he  loved  what  he  had  made,  and 


10  STOIUES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

surrounded  it  with  all  that  was  beautiful  and 
good. 

"  Of  every  tree  in  the  garden  ye  may  eat,' 
He  had  said  to  Adam  and  Eve,  ''except  the 
tree  of  Knowledge-of-Good-and-of-Evil.  Of  that 
eat  not  lest  ye  die." 


THE    CREATION. 

The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 

With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 

And  spangled  Heavens,  a  shining  frame, 

Their  great  Original  proclaim. 

The  unwearied  sun,  from  day  to  day, 

Does  his  Creator's  power  display, 

And  publishes  to  every  land 

The  work  of  an  almighty  hand. 


STORIES  OP   THE  BIBLE.  11 

Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail, 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale, 
And  nightly  to  the  listening  earth 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth  ; 
Whilst  all  the  stars  around  her  burn, 
And  all  the  planets,  in  their  turn, 
Confirm  the  tidings  as  they  roll, 
And  spread  the  truth  from  pole  to  pole. 

What  though  in  solemn  silence  all 
Move  round  this  dark  terrestrial  ball ! 
What  though  no  real  voice  or  sound 
Amidst  their  radiant  orbs  be  found  I- 
In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice ; 
Forever  singing  as  they  shine, 
"  The  hand  that  made  us  is  Divine." 

—Joseph  Addison. 


CREATION   OF  TERRA    FTRMA.       (Raphael.') 

THE    GARDEN    OF   EDEN. 

When  Adam  and  Eve  looked  out 
upon  the  world  round  about  them  ;  when  they 
saw  the  flowers  and  the  grasses ;  when  they 
heard  the  splashing  of  the  sun-lit  waters,  and 
the  rustling  of  the  soft  branches,  -then  their 
hearts  were  filled  with  love  for  each  other,  for 
their  home,  and  for  the  Father  who  had  made 
all  this  joy  for  them. 

For  a  long  time  they  wandered  up  and 
down  the  Garden  of  Eden,  singing  songs,  and 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  \% 

ready  always  to  hear  the  voice  of  God  when  he 
spoke  to  them  in  the  soft  winds  that  played 
among  the  tree  tops. 

Now,  there  was  a  wicked  angel,  named 
Satan.  He  had  been  cast  out  from  heaven, 
down,  down  from  the  blue  sky.  And  in  his 
own  unhappy  home  he  dwelt  now,  alone, 
wretched  and  revengeful.  And  when  he  saw 
this  happy  man  and  woman,  so  good  and  pure, 
their  hearts  bounding  with  love  to  God  and 
joy  in  right  doing,  his  cruel  face  grew  black. 

"  Such  happiness  shall  not  last,"  he  said. 
So  he  crept  into  the  Garden,  took  on  the  form 
of  a  serpent  and  spoke  to  Eve. 

"  Eat  of  the  fruit  of  this  tree,"  he  said, 
"  and  give  it  to  Adam  that  he  may  eat  too." 

"  But  we  are  forbidden,"  Eve  said. 

"The  fruit  is  like  no  other.  Eat!  Ye 
shall  not  die,"  the  serpent  answered. 


THE   EXPULSION   OF  ADAM   AND 


EDEN.     (Dore.} 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIBLE.  15 

Then  Eve  gathered  the  fruit  and  ate  of  it. 
It  was  sweet,  even  as  the  serpent  had  said.  Then 
she  gathered  more,  and  Adam,  too,  ate  of  it. 

Then  darkness  fell  upon  the  earth.  A 
great  wind  arose,  the  thunder  rolled,  and  God 
drove  Adam  and  Eve  out  from  the  Garden  of 
Eden  ;  and  at  the  entrance  He  placed  cheru- 
bims  and  a  flaming  sword  for  no  one  who 
had  sinned  could  dwell  in  a  land  so  beautiful 
and  free  from  sorrow. 

But  God  pitied  these  children  of  his; 
and,  although  they  had  sinned  against  him, 
he  saw  that,  after  long  years  of  suffering, 
One  should  be  born,  who  would  bring  back  to 
earth  the  joy  and  peace  and  happiness  that  had 
once  been  theirs,  and  which  would  have  been 
to  all  their  children  in  all  the  time  to  come, 
had  not  these  parents  sinned. 

And  so  Adam  and  Eve  went  out  into  the 


16  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

world  to  work  and   struggle  and  build  homes 
for  themselves. 

By  and  by  two  baby  boys  were  born  to 


ADAM    AMD    IM.      (Raphael.} 

them, —  Cain  and  Abel.  Pure  and  kind  and 
good  these  children  should  have  been.  But 
now  they  were  born  into  a  world  of  sin,  and  of 
the  nature  of  sin  they  too  partook. 


STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE.  17 

When  these  children  were  grown  men, 
Cain  hated  his  brother.  He  grew  sullen  and 
revengeful  towards  him.  The  serpent  that 
had  tempted  Adam  and  Eve  now  tempted  him. 
He  listened;  and  one  day,  when  they  were  at 
work  together  in  the  field,  Cain  slew  Abel  and 
hid  him  in  the  earth. 

Then  a  great  storm  gathered  across  the 
sky;  and  a  voice  said,  "  Cain,  where  is  thy 
brother  ?  " 

Cain  trembled  with  fear ;  for  he  knew  it 
was  the  voice  of  God.  But  he  raised  his 
wicked  face  towards,  the  heavens  and  cried, 
"  Why  should  I  know  ?  Am  I  my  brother'^ 
keeper  ?  " 

And  the  voice  said,  "  Thou  art  thy 
brother's  keeper." 

Then  God  put  a  brand  upon  the  brow  of 
Cain,  and  drove  him  forth  into  the  wilderness, 
to  be  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond. 


STATI'I     OF   CAIN.         <;S<<r,ri,>ii 


11  IK    CURSK    OF    CAIN. 

O,  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  is  a  terrible  tiling!  — 
Like  the  tempest  th:-it  withers  the  blossoms  of  spring, 
Like  the  thunder  that  bursts  on  the  summer's  domain, 
It  fell  on  the  head  of  the  homicide  Cain. 

And,  lo  !  like  a  deer  in  the  fright  of  the  chase, 
With  a  fire  in  his  heart,  and  a  brand  on  his  face, 
He  speeds  him  afar  to  tlu   desert  of  Nod, — 
A  vagabond,  smote  by  the  vengeance  of  (iod  ! 

All  nature,  to  him,  has  been  blasted  and  banned, 
And  the  blood  of  a  brother  yet  reeks  on  his  hand  ; 
And  no  vintage  has  grown,  and  no  fountain  has  sprung, 
For  cheering  his  heart,  or  for  cooling  his  tongue. 

The  groans  of  a  father  his  slumber  shall  start, 
And  the  tears  of  a  mother  shall  pierce  to  his  heart, 
And  the  kiss  of  his  children  shall  scorch  him  like  flame, 
When  he  thinks  of  the  curse  that  hangs  over  his  name. 


TIIK    noVF.    SKN'I     MIRTH    FKOM    THE    ARK. 


THE  FLOOD. 

Earth  shall  be  ocean  !   and  no  breath, 
Save  of  the  winds  be  on  the  unbounded  wave  ! 
Angels  shall  tire  their  wings,  but  find  no  spot : 
Not  even  a  rock  from  out  the  liquid  grave 

Shall  lift  its  point  to  save, 

Or  show  the  place  where  strong  despair  hath  died, 
After  long  looking  o'er  the  ocean  wide 
For  the  expected  ebb  which  cometh  not ; 

All  shall  be  void,  destroyed. 

—  Byron. 

It  was  many,  many  years  after  Adam  and 
Eve  were  driven  out  from  the  Garden  of  Eden 
that  the  flood  came. 

There  were  thousands  of  people  in  the 
world  now,  and  they  were  scattered  here  and 
there  through  the  fertile  valleys  and  along  the 
rivers  of  the  country  far  and  wide. 

There  were  rich  farms  everywhere,  and 
shepherds  watched  their  flocks  on  the  hillsides. 
There  were  towns  and  cities ;  many  of  them 

21 


22  STORIES    OF    THE    B1BLK. 

where  people  dwelt    together  and  made   their 
laws  and  appointed  their  law-givers. 

But  in  all  these  years  the  people  had  been 
growing  more  and  more  away  from  the  simple, 
honest  life  that  God  had  first  shown  Adam 
and  Eve. 

They  had  grown  selfish  and  greedy ;  they 
were  cruel  to  each  other;  they  cared  nothing 
for  the  rights  and  comforts  of  the  community; 
and  more  than  all  this,  they  had  forsaken 
the  simple  faith  of  their  fathers  and  become 
worshippers  of  idols. 

There  was  one  good  man  dwelling  among 
these  people,  many,  many  years  before,  whose 
name  was  Enoch.  Now,  it  was  not  the  will  of 
God  that  Enoch  should  suffer  for  the  sins  of 
the  people ;  and  so,  when  the  flood  was  about 
to  come  upon  the  earth  to  destroy  them,  God 
came  and  stood  by  Enoch  and  said,  "Come 
with  me." 


SToHIKS    OK    THK    BIBLK.  23 

Now  there  was  another  good  man  upon 
the  earth,  a  great  grandson  of  Enoch's,  and 
a  man  who  had  never  forgotten  God,  and  who 
had  reared  his  children  always  in  the  simple 
faith  which  had  been  his  own. 

Although  God  meant  to  send  a  flood  that 
should  destroy  the  cities,  and  separate  the 
people  so  that  the  wickedness  of  the  earth 
might  be  destroyed,  still  it  was  not  his  wish 
that  the  race  should  perish  wholly.  And  so 
again  God  went  down  to  the  earth,  and  said  to 
this  good  man,  Noah,  "  Build  thou  an  ark,  and 
into  it  bring  all  thy  family,  and  also  two  of 
every  kind  of  bird  and  beast  and  animal.  For  a 
great  flood  shall  come  upon  the  earth,  and 
those  in  the  ark  only  shall  be  saved." 

Noah  was  a  simple  hearted  man.  It  was 
a  strange  thing  for  him  to  be  told  to  build  an 
ark  and  place  within  its  shelter  his  family  and 


24  STOKIES    OF   THE   BIBLE. 

two  of  every  living  thing;  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth. 

He  told  the  people  what  God  had  said  to 


NOAH    BUII-D1NC,    THH    AKK.       (Raphael 


him  ;  and  he  urged  them  to  do  likewise.  But 
the  people  only  laughed  at  him,  and  called  him 
a  fool. 


STORIES    OF    THE   BIBLE.  25 

But  Noah  doubted  not  the  word  of  God 
and  set  to  work  at  once, —  his  three  sons, 
Ham,  Shem,  and  Japheth  helping  him  to  build 
an  ark,  and  to  gather  together  the  birds  and 
beasts  and  animals  of  the  earth. 

Every  morning  the  four  men  set  out  as 
soon  as  the  sun  had  risen,  and  kept  at  their 
work  until  darkness  fell  at  night. 

At  last  the  ark  was  finished,  and  Noah, 
with  his  wife,  his  three  sons  and  their  wives, 
journeyed  to  the  mountain  side.  The  people 
in  the  valley  laughed  at  them  and  threw 
stones  at  them,  but  the  trustful  little  band 
kept  on  their  way  and  entered  the  ark,  taking 
with  them,  as  they  had  been  told,  two  of  every 
kind  of  bird  and  beast. 

Then  the  clouds  began  to  gather  in  the 
south, —  great  black  rolls  of  cloud.  The  wind 
rose,  the  clouds  scattered  over  the  whole  sky ; 


STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE.  •_>; 

and  so  black  and  thick  were  they  that  the  light 
of  the  sun  was  shut  out.      It  was  like  night. 

Then  the  rain  fell.  In  great  sheets,  like 
rivers,  it  poured  upon  the  valleys.  The 
thunders  rolled,  the  lightnings  flashed,  the 
rivers  overflowed  their  banks.  The  winds 
howled,  and  great  trees  were  torn  up  by  the 
roots. 

For  forty  days  this  storm  continued  - 
forty  days  and  forty  nights.  Every  living 
thing  left  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  was 
drowned.  But  the  ark,  with  its  inmates,  was 
borne  up  by  the  waters  in  safety.  At  last,  one 
morning  when  Noah  and  his  people  awoke, 
they  could  see  that  the  storm  had  ceased  ;  the 
clouds  were  separating,  and  the  sun  was  send- 
ing its  rays  down  through  the  mist  upon  the 

flooded  earth  below. 

Then  came  the  beautiful  rainbow,  spanning 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  29 

the  heavens   in    the    west,    and    reflecting    it$ 
wonderful  colors  in  the  great  sea  below. 

THE    RAINBOW. 

Triumphal  arch,  that  flU'st  the  sky 

When  storms  prepare  to  part, 
I  ask  not  proud  philosophy 

To  teach  me  what  thou  art. 

Still  seem  as  to  my  childhood's  sight, 

A  midway  station  given, 
For  happy  spirits  to  alight 

Betwixt  the  earth  and  heaven. 

How  glorious  is  thy  girdle  cast 
O'er  mountain,  tower,  and  town. 

Or.  mirror'd  in  the  ocean  vast, 
A  thousand  fathoms  down. 

As  fresh  in  yon  horizon  dark, 

As  young  thy  beauties  seem, 
As  when  the  eagle  from  the  ark 

First  sported  in  thy  beam. 

For  faithful  to  its  sacred  page, 

Heaven  still  rebuilds  thy  span, 
Nor  lets  the  type  grow  pale  with  age, 

That  first  spoke  peace  to  man. 

—  T.  Campbell. 


:\0  STOKIKS    OF    THE    BIBLK. 

Never  was    rainbow  so  beautiful!    Then 
the  voice  of  (rod  spoke  from  out  the  skies  to 


SHAH    AND  THE    IIOVK 


Noah,  "  This  shall  be  to  you  a  bow  of  promise. 
Never  again  shall  the  earth  and  the  people  be 
destroyed  by  water." 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  31 

But  nowhere,  as  far  as  eye  could  reach, 
was  there  any  sign  of  land  ;  there  was  only  the 
peak  of  Ararat  with  the  ark  upon  it,  standing 
out  above  the  water. 

Noah  sent  out  first  a  raven,  and  it  returned 
not.  Then  he  sent  out  JPom  the  ark  a  dove ; 
and  the  dove  came  back  after  a  long,  long 
flight  across  the  waters,  and  fell  fluttering  at 
Noah's  feet. 

Seven  days  went  by.  Then  again  Noah 
sent  out  a  dove;  aid  this  time  it  returned  with 
an  olive  leaf.  Noah  knew  now  that  the  Hood 
was  subsiding,  and  that  he  might  lift  the  covrr 
of  the  ark  and  step  out  upon  the  mountain 
top. 

Then  Noah  and  his  family  went  forth, 
together  with  all  the  creatures  that  had  gone 
into  the  Ark  with  them. 

And  so  thankful   was    Noah  that  he  built 


32 


STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE. 


a  great  altar,  and  he  and  his  family  offered 
sacrifices  to  God  in  gratitude  for  his  loving 
care  of  them. 


COMING   FORTH   KKOM   THE   ARK.      (Raphael.} 


THE    TOWER    OF    BABEL. 

Children  were  born  to  Ham,  Shem,  and 
Japheth;  and  when  these  children  became  men 
and  women,  children  were  born  to  them,  until, 
after  many,  many  years,  the  valley  was  again 
filled  with  people, —  all  descendants  from  Noah 
and  his  three  sons. 

Now,  there  came  a  time,  long  after  Noah 
had '  died,  and  so  could  guide  his  people  no 
longer  into  the  paths  of  right,  that  the  people 
again  grew  wicked  and  selfish  to  one  another. 

They  boasted  of  their  power,  and  said 
among  themselves,  "  We  will  build  a  tower 
that  shall  reach  into  heaven  itself.  Then  who 
in  heaven  or  earth  shall  be  greater  than  we  ?  " 

33 


CONFl'SKiN    OF    T(>\<,ri:s. 


STORIKS    OK    THK    BIIiLK.  :;;, 

Now,  God  was  angry  that  these  people 
should  have  forgotten  the  God  of  their  fathers, 
and  that  the  trustful,  humble  soul  of  Noah 
should  so  have  departed  from  them. 

So,  while  all  the  people  were  at  work 
upon  the  tower,  now  risen  above  the  trees  and 
hill-tops,  God  touched  them  ;  and  behold,  from 
that  instant  each  spoke  a  language  of  his  own; 
nor  could  one  of  them  understand  any  other. 

Confusion  followed,  the  building  of  the 
tower  was  forsaken,  the  people  scattered  up 
and  down  the  valley;  and  so  the  tower  of 
Babel  'was  left  to  crumble  into  ruins. 


ABRAHAM. 

In  the  pleasant  valley  of  Mesopotamia 
there  lived  a  good  man,  whom  the  people 
loved,  and  who  was  called  Abram. 

Now,  the  people  of  this  valley  were  idola- 
ters, and  though  Abram  often  pleaded  with 
them  to  return  to  the  faith  in  one  God,  they 
would  not  listen  to  him.  "  Go  thou  your  way, 
and  we  will  go  ours,"  they  would  say. 

But  God  would  not  permit  it  to  be  that 
Abram's  life  should  be  spent  upon  a  people 
who  cared  not  for  the  good  spirit  that  Abram 
shed  everywhere  about  him.  So  He  called  to 
him  and  said,  "  Leave  this  valley.  Go  thou 
with  thy  people  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  There 


3G 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  37 

a  son  shall  be  born  to  you,  and  your  descend- 
ants shall  govern  the  land  of  Canaan. ' 

Abram,  simple  hearted  and  trustful  like 
Noah,  gathered  his  possessions  together,  and 
with  his  wife,  Sarah,  and  his  nephew,  Lot, 
set  forth  across  the  country  towards  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

Now,  Abram  was  a  man  of  great  wealth. 
He  had  silver  and  gold,  and  camels,  and  sheep 
and  cattle,  and  armies  of  servants. 

Lot  too  had  great  wealth  ;  and  when  the 
two  families  came  into  Canaan,  Lot  declared 
there  was  not  land  enough  for  them  all.  So 
Lot  went  on  towards  Jordan,  where  there  were 
fertile  valleys  and  broad  rivers. 

"  Here,"  said  Lot,  "  shall  I  find  pasturage 
for  my  flocks  and  food  for  my  servants." 

"  But  God  bade  us  dwell  here,"  said 
Abram ;  and  he  was  grieved  that  so  great  greed 
should  have  fallen  upon  Lot. 


88  STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 

Lot  went  to  live  in  the  city  of  Sodom,  a 
city  so  wicked  that  God  finally  visited  it  with 
fire  and  destroyed  it. 

Lot  was  not  happy  in  Sodom.  The  people 
were  idolaters,  and  laughed  bitterly  at  Lot  for 
his  religion.  For,  though  Lot  had  disobeyed 
God,  he  still  kept  the  worship  of  Abram. 

By  and  by  a  great  king  besieged  the  city 
of  Sodom,  and  stole  away  its  riches.  Lot 
himself  was  made  prisoner,  and  his  wealth 
was  divided  among  the  soldiers  of  the  conquer- 
ing king. 

Abram,  living  happily  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  heard  of  the  downfall  of  Sodom,  and 
of  Lot's  imprisonment.  So  he  gathered 
together  his  own  great  army  and  marched 
against  the  king.  He  recaptured  the  wealth 
of  Sodom,  returning  it  to  its  rightful  owners, 
and  freed  all  the  people  from  prison, 


STORIES  OF  TIIK  BIBLK.  39 

"Wilt  thon  come  now  to  dwell  in  Canaan?" 
Abram  asked  of  Lot.  But  Lot  was  stubborn 
and  would  not. 

Then  Melchizedek,  the  ruler  of  Salem, 
came  out  to  meet  Abram,  bringing  bread  and 
wine.  For  Melchizedek  was  a  priest  as  well 
as  a  ruler;  and,  as  he  poured  the  wine,  he  said, 
"  Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  high  God, 
possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.  And  blessed 
be  the  most  high  God,  who  hath  delivered 
thine  enemies  into  thy  hands." 

Then  Abram  gave  to  Melchizedek  one 
tenth  of  all  his  wealth,  in  token  of  his  love  for 
him  ;  and  after  that  he  rode  back  into  his  own 
Land  of  Canaan. 


ABRAHAM   AND  THE   THREE   ANGELS. 


ABRAHAM'S  VISIONS. 

Angels  of  life  and  death  are  His; 

Without  his  leave  they  pass  no  threshold  o'er ; 
Who,  then,  would  wish  or  dare,  believing  this, 

Against  his  messengers  to  shut  the  door. 

—  Longfclloiv. 

One  night  Abram  went  out  beneath  the 
sky  and  looked  up  at  the  stars.  Then'  God's 
voice  spoke  and  said,  "  Thy  descendants  shall 
be  in  number  like  the  stars." 

Now,  Abram  had  no  children,  and  had  his 
faith  been  less  firm  he  might  have  doubted  the 
words  he  heard.  But  he  had  never  forgotten 
the  promise  that  in  the  Land  of  Canaan  a  child 
should  be  born  to  him,  and  that  from  him 
should  descend  a  nation. 

And  that  same  night  God  spoke  again  to 
Abram  in  a  vision.  He  showed  him  an  altar 
with  a  burning  lamp.  And  he  said  to  Abram, 

41 


42  STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLK. 

"  For  four  hundred  years  your  descendants 
shall  journey  in  a  strange  land  and  suffer 
affliction ;  but,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  they 
shall  again  come  into  Canaan  and  possess  the 
land." 

Then  the  Lord  changed  the  name  of 
Abram  to  Abraham,  which  means  Father  of  a 
People.  And  his  wife's  name  he  changed  to 
Sarah,  which  means  a  Princess.  And  again 
God  said  unto  Abraham  and  Sarah,  "  A  child 
shall  be  born  to  you  ;  and  he  shall  be  great 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth." 

A  third  time  God  came  to  Abraham  ;  and 
he  told  him  that  the  destruction  of  Sodom  was 
near  at  hand,  because  of  its 'wickedness. 

Then  Abraham  thought  of  Lot,  and  prayed 
to  God  to  save  the  city  for  Lot's  sake. 

And  God  answered,  "  If  ten  righteous 
people  only  be  found  in  the  city,  I  will  not 
destroy  it  for  Lot's  sake." 


STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE. 


But  ten  righteous  people  were  not  to  be 
found  in  the  city,  and  so  the  angels  of  destruc- 
tion were  sent  down  upon  it. 

Lot  sat  in  the  gateway  of  the  city  and 
looked  out  upon  the  country.  And  when  he 
saw  the  angels  of  destruction,  he  rose  and  led 
them  to  his  house  and  gave  them  food. 

Then  the  angels  said,  "  Whatsoever  thou 
hast  in  this  city  bring  out;  for  we  are  come  to 
destroy  this  place." 

Then  Lot  went  and  told  his  people  ;  but 
none  of  them  would  listen  to  him.  In  the 
morning  the  angels  came  and  woke  Lot  and 
his  wife  and  said  to  them,  "  Arise,  and  hasten 
from  the  city.  Escape  for  thy  life,  and  look 
not  behind  thee." 

So  Lot  and  his  wife  and  their  two  daugh- 
ters fled  from  the  city  ;  and  the  shower  of  fire 
came  down  to  purify  it.  But  when  they  were 


THE   FLIGHT  OF  LOT, 


STORIES   OP   THE  BIBLE.  45 

far  out  on  the  plain,  Lot's  wife,  still  loving  her 
old  home,  turned  back  to  look  upon  it.  Too 
late  the  angels'  words  came  back  to  her,  "  Look 
not  behind  thee." 

Her  feet  were  rooted  to  the  spot ;  her 
voice  refused  to  come;  sight  left  her;  sound 
was  shut  out ;  and  in  one  instant  she  was 
changed  to  a  pillar  of  salt. 

Then  Lot  and  his  two  daughters  hurried 
on.  They  reached  a  great  cave,  and  ran  and 
hid  themselves  in  it.  The  city  was  now  a 
blackened  ruin.  Lot's  wealth  was  destroyed. 
He  had  no  silver,  no  gold,  no  cattle,  no  home 
-  only  the  cave,  and  grateful  was  he  that  he 
had  even  that. 


DEPARTURE   OF   HAC.AR  AND  1SHMAEL. 


HAGAR. 

Who  can  speak  a  mother's  anguish, 

Painted  in  that  tearless  eye, 
Which  beholds  her  darling  languish, 

Languish,  unrelieved,  to  die  ! 

It  was  not  very  long  after  the  destruction 
of  Sodom  that  there  was  born  into  the  home 
of  Abraham  and  Sarah  a  beautiful  little  baby 
boy --even  as  God  had  promised. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  among  the 
people  of  Abraham's  household.  Feasts  were 
held,  sacrifices  were  offered  up,  and  Abraham 
gave  the  child  the  name  of  Isaac. 

One  of  Sarah's  maids,  whose  name  was 
Hagar,  had  a  son,  too,  called  Ishmael.  One 
day  this  boy  mocked  at  Isaac,  and  Sarah 
said  he  and  his  mother  must  be  sent  away. 

So  Abraham  called  Hagar  and  told  her 
she  must  go,  and  he  gave  her  some  bread 


HAGAR   AND   ISHMABL  IN  THE   DESERT. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  49 

and  a  bottle  of  water,  and  sent  her  forth  into 
the  wilderness. 

Poor  Hagar  and  her  child  sorrowfully 
set  forth  in  the  burning  heat ;  but  when  all 
their  water  was  gone,  her  little  one  began  to 
droop ;  he  grew  weaker  and  weaker,  and  she 
thought  he  would  die.  She  laid  him  in  the 
shade  and  went  away  to  weep.  The  mother 
could  not  bear  to  see  her  poor  boy  die. 

She  looked  above  —  the  heavens  shone  still 

Unclouded,  bright  and  clear; 
She  listened  but  not  fount  nor  rill 

Poured  music  on  her  ear. 
Thence  once  again  her  child  she  eyed  — 

His  cheek  wore  death's  pale  hue ; 
"Alas!   and  is  it  thus,"  she  cried  ; 

"Doth  God  forsake  me  too, 
And  with  my  earthly  foes  combine 
To  work  such  ill  for  me  and  mine?" 

The  Angel  of  God  heard  her  and  told 
her  not  to  fear,,  but  to  take  up  Ishmael  and 
hold  him  in  her  arms.  Then  she  saw,  all  at 
once,  a  well  near  her ;  she  gave  the  child 
a  drink,  and  soon  he  grew  strong  and  well. 


IHK  TKIAI.  (.)!•  ABRAHAM'S  I-AIMI 


ISAAC. 

Isaac  grew  up  a  fine,  healthy,  noble  boy 
loved  by  all  his  father's  people ;  and  to  his, 
father  and  mother,  now  old  people,  he  was 
their  joy  and  life.  Never  a  day  passed  that 
Abraham  and  Sarah  did  not  offer  thanks  to 
God  for  their  beautiful  child.  Most  carefully 
they  taught  him  the  religion  of  his  people,  and 
bade  him  follow  it  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

"  When  God  speaks,  obey,  O  my  son  ! " 
the  old  father  would  say.  And  one  day  there 
came  to  Abraham,  and  Isaac  too,  a  trial  of 
their  faith. 

A  vision  came  again  to  Abraham.  And 
in  the  vision  the  Lord  spoke,  saying,  "  Arise, 
Abraham,  and  go  and  prepare  an  altar  upon 


52  STORIES    OF    THE   BIBLE. 

the  mountain.  And  when  the  altar  is  ready, 
place  thy  son  Isaac  upon  the  altar ;  for  I 
would  that  he  be  sacrificed --a  burnt  offering 
-to  me." 

Poor  old  Abraham !  There  was  nothing  in 
all  the  world  so  dear  to  him  as  this  child, 
Isaac ;  but  although  his  heart  was  sore  and 
heavy,  the  old  man  rose  and  did  as  he  was  bid. 
And  when  the  altar  was  ready,  he  called  Isaac 
and  told  him  what  the  vision  had  said. 

For  a  minute  the  brave  boy's  cheek  grew 
pale ;  his  heart  beat  fast.  Then  he  permitted 
his  father  to  bind  him  hand  and  foot  and  lay 
him  upon  the  altar.  Abraham  lifted  the  knife 
to  slay  the  boy;  when,  lo!  his  hand  was  held, 
and  a  voice  said,  "  Harm  not  the  lad ;  for  now 
I  do  know  that  thou  lovest  God  more  than  all 
else  beside." 

With  trembling  hands  Abraham  unbound 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  53 

the  cords  that  held  Isaac,  and  the  boy  leaped 
down  from  the  altar.  Then,  with  tears  of 
gratitude,  they  knelt  and  thanked  God  for  his 
mercy.  Then  the  voice  spake  again  :  "  Because 
you  have  done  this  thing  I  will  bless  thee ;  and 
all  nations  shall  be  blessed  through  thy  children." 

One  day  Abraham's  wife,  Sarah,  lay  down 
and  died,  and  Abraham  bought  the  field  of 
Machpelah  and  made  for  her  a  burial  place. 

"  Now,"  said  Abraham  to  Isaac,  "it  is  right 
that  you  should  find  a  wife  and  bring  her  to 
dwell  in  our  tent.  But  take  not  a  wife  from 
the  people  of  Canaan,  for  they  are  idolaters. 
Go  rather  to  Mesopotamia,  and  there  take  the 
wife  that  God  may  allot  thee." 

So  a  trusty  old  servant  was  sent  into 
Mesopotamia  to  find  a  wife  for  Isaac, —  a 
woman  who  should  be  beautiful  and  good,  and 
whose  faith  was  like  that  of  Abraham. 


REBEKAH. 

His  house  she  enters,  there  to  be  a  light, 
Shining  within,  when  all  without  is  right. 

It  was  just  upon  the  edge  of  the  village, 
and  just  as  the  sun  was  sinking,  that  the 
servant  came  to  the  well  from  which  the 
village  folk  drew  water.  And  there,  with  a 
pitcher  in  her  hand,  stood  a  maiden,  as  beauti- 
ful as  ever  maiden  could  be. 

"  Whose  daughter  art  thou  ?  "  the  servant 
asked. 

And  the  maiden  answered,  "I  am  Rebekah, 
the  daughter  of  Bethuel,  of  the  house  of 
Abraham." 

Then  the  servant  was  glad  ;  for  he  knew 
now  that  the  maiden  was  as  good,  and  her 
religion  as  pure,  as  she  was  beautiful.  So  he 

55 


56  STORIES  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

went  to  the  home  of  Bethuel,  and  told  his 
errand  into  Mesopotamia.  He  told  Bethuel 
of  the  godly  life  Abraham  had  led,  and  of  the 
noble  youth,  Isaac.  And  he  asked  that  he 
might  choose  Rebekah  for  Isaac's  wife  and 
carry  hex  back  with  him  to  Canaan. 

The  heart  of  Bethuel  was  glad;  and 
Rebekah,  too,  was  glad  to  go  ;  for  already  she 
loved  the  brave  lad,  Isaac,  so  proudly  had  the 
old  servant  told  the  story  of  his  brave  deeds 
and  godly  life. 

So  Rebekah,  arrayed  in  a  fine  raiment, 
was  placed  on  a  camel,  and  beside  her  walked 
her  nurse  and  maids. 

The  old  servant  then  hurried  on,  and 
reached  the  home  of  Isaac  while  yet  the 
maiden  and  her  companions  were  not  beyond 
the  limits  of  their  own  land. 

He  told   Isaac  all  that  had  happened,  and 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  57 

how  beautiful  and  good  the  maiden  was,  and 
that  she  was  of  the  noble  house  of  Bethuel. 

Then  Isaac  loved  the  maiden  ;  and,  as  she 
came  near  to  Canaan,  he  hurried  forth  to  meet 
her,  and  to  bring  her  to  his  home  and  to  his 
people.  Old  Abraham  was  glad  when  he  saw 
the  maiden,  for  he  knew  God's  blessing  would 
rest  upon  the  union. 

Abraham  was  now  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  years  of  age  ;  and  when  he  came 
to  die,  Rebekah  and  Isaac  laid  him  beside 
Sarah  in  the  field  of  Machpelar,  and  Isaac 
took  his  father's  place  in  the  household. 

Isaac  and  Rebekah  lived  to  an  old  age. 
They  were  good  people,  and  the  Lord  blessed 
them  ;  and  when  they  came  to  die,  their  two 
sons,  Esau  and  Jacob,  wept  over  them,  and  laid 
them,  also,  beside  Abraham  in  the  field  of 
Machpelar. 


JACOB  AND  ESAU. 

We  barter  life  for  pottage  ;    sell  true  bliss 

For  wealth  or  power,  for  pleasure  or  renown  ; 

Thus,  Esau  like,  our  Father's  blessing  miss, 

Then  wash  with  fruitless  tears  our  faded  crown. 

—  Kcblc. 

Esau  was  the  older  son,  and  to  him 
belonged  the  honors  of  the  family.  It  was  his 
duty,  too,  to  offer  sacrifices  and  serve  as  the 
high  priest  in  the  home ;  for  such  was  the 
custom  of  the  times. 

But  Esau  cared  little  either  for  honor  or 
religious  services.  And  so,  one  day  when  he 
came  home  from  the  hunt,  hungry  and  thirsty, 
he  sold  his  birthright  to  his  brother  Jacob  for 
a  bowl  of  pottage  that  Jacob  sat  eating 
before  the  door  of  his  home. 

Now,  Isaac  loved  this  son  better  than  IK 
loved  Jacob,  and  was  grieved  and  disappointed 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  59 

that  he  should  have  sold  his  birthright  so 
foolishly ;  for  now  to  Jacob  rather  than  to 
Esau  would  fall  the  blessings  of  God. 

But  it  could  not  now  be  helped,  and 
Jacob  took  up  the  office  of  high  priest  in  the 
house  of  Isaac. 

As  Isaac  grew  old,  to  him  was  given  the 
gift  of  prophecy ;  and  whomsoever  he  blessed, 
honor,  and  prosperity  was  sure  to  follow. 
When  Rebekah  knew  this,  her  heart  was  filled 
with  but  one  desire, —  that  Isaac's  blessing 
should  fall  upon  Jacob  rather  than  upon  Esau; 
for  she  knew  how  unworthy  Esau  was  in 
spirit,  and  how  little  he  would  strive  to  honor 
God  when  the  household  became  his  own. 

So,  one  day  when  Esau  was  away  upon 
the  hunt,  she  called  Jacob  to  her  and  bade  him 
go  kneel  beside  his  old  father  and  ask  his 
blessing. 


ISAAC   BLESSING   JACOB, 


STORIES  OF  THE  BIBLE.  61 

But  Jacob  said,  "  Behold,  Esau,  my 
brother,  is  a  hairy  man  and  I  a  smooth  man. 
My  father,  perhaps,  will  feel  me,  and  I  shall 
seem  to  him  as  a  deceiver." 

Rebekah  said,  "  Obey  my  voice,  my  son." 
And  Jacob  yielded. 

Then  Rebekah  took  some  clothes  belong- 
ing to  Esau  and  put  them  upon  Jacob ;  and 
she  put  the  skin  of  the  kids  that  he  had 
brought  her  upon  his  hands  and  upon  the 
smooth  of  his  neck. 

Then  Jacob  knelt  before  his  father,  whose 
eyes  were  dimmed  with  old  age,  and  said, 
"  Bless  me,  my  father." 

And  Isaac  said,  "Who  art  thou,  my  son?" 

And  Jacob  said,  "  I  am  Esau,  thy  first 
born." 

Then  Isaac  said  to  Jacob,  "  Come  near, 
that  I  may  feel  whether  thou  be  my  very  son 
Esau  or  not." 


62  STORIES   OF   THE   BIHLK. 

So  Jacob  went  near  to  his  father,  and  the 
father  felt  of  him  ;  and  he  said,  "  The  voice  is 
Jacob's  voice,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of 
Esau." 

Then  Isaac,  thinking  it  was  Esau  who 
knelt,  blessed  him  as  his  first-born,  and  said, 
"  The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  give  thee  plenty  of 
corn  and  wine.  Let  the  people  serve  thee ; 
and  be  thou  lord  over  all  thy  brethren." 

And  all  this  came  to  pass ;  for  Jacob's 
children  came  into  possession  of  the  rich  land 
of  Canaan. 

By  and  by,  Esau  entered  the  tent  and 
knelt  beside  his  father.  "  Thy  blessing,  O 
father  Isaac,"  he  said. 

The  old  man  stretched  out  his  hands. 
"  Who  art  thou  ?  "  he  cried. 

"  I  am  Esau,  your  first-born.  Know  you 
not  that  I  am  Esau  ?  " 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  63 

"Who  was  it  then  that  came  just  now  and 
received  my  blessing?"  Isaac  asked. 

Then  Esau  knew  that  to  him  was  lost  the 
blessing  as  an  eldest  son. 

The  old  man  wailed.  "  Alas!  alas !  my  son," 
he  said,  "  much  wealth  can  I  yet  bestow  upon 
thee ;  still  the  greater  honors  are  now  with 
Jacob." 

Now  Esau's  heart  was  filled  with  rage. 
He  would  have  slain  his  brother;  but 
Rebekah,  knowing  this,  sent  Jacob  away. 

When  night  came  on  Jacob  lay  down 
upon  the  cold  ground  and  placed  a  stone 
beneath  his  head.  And  as  he  slept  God  sent  a 
beautiful  vision  to  bless  him. 

He  saw  a  ladder  set  upon  the  earth,  whose 
top  reached  to  Heaven.  Holy  angels  were 
going  up  and  down  the  ladder,  and,  above 
them  all,  stood  God. 


JACOB  S    DREAM. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  65 

And  a  voice  said,  "  I  am  the  God  of 
Abraham  and  of  Jacob.  I  will  give  the  land 
where  thou  liest  to  be  a  possession  to  thy 
children.  I  am  with  thee  and  will  keep  thee 
in  all  thy  places,  and  bring  thee  again  into  thy 
land." 

Then  Jacob  awoke.  "This  is  God's  place," 
he  said,  "  and  I  knew  it  not.''  "This  is  the 
House  of  God  and  the  Gate  of  Heaven." 

Then  he  took  a  stone  and  poured  oil  upon 
it  and  blessed  it.  "  This  place  shall  be  called 
Bethel,"  he  said ;  "  Bethel,  which  means  the 

House  of  God,  for  here    God    appeared    unto 

*» 
me. 

From  Bethel  Jacob  went  on  to  the  land 
of  his  uncle  Laban ;  and  there  he  dwelt  for 
many  years,  keeping  the  sheep. 

But  the  time  came  when  Laban  looked 
with  jealousy  upon  Jacob.  The  Lord  came 


JACOB  WRESTLING   WITH   THE   ANC.I 


STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLE.  67 

again  to  Jacob  and  bade  him  take  his  wife, 
Rachael,  and  his  children  and  go  back  to 
Canaan.  Jacob  obeyed,  and,  driving  his  great 
flocks  before  him,  he  set  out  again  for  his  old 
home. 

As  he  neared  the  village  of  Seir,  where 
Esau  dwelt,  he  sent  messengers  ahead  to  tell 
Esau  that  he  was  returning,  and  to  beg  him 
to  forgive  the  past  that  they  might  meet 
each  other  in  brotherly  love. 

The  servants  came  back  and  told  him 
that  Esau  was  coming  to  meet  him  with 
four  hundred  men.  Then  Jacob  was  in  great 
fear,  for  he  thought  Esau  meant  to  kill  him. 

He  prayed  to  God  to  keep  him  safe. 
At  night  an  angel  came  and  wrestled  with 
him  till  break  of  day,  but  could  not  overcome 
him.  And  when  morn  came,  the  angel  said, 
"  Let  me  go,  for  it  is  break  of  day."  Jacob 


68  STORIES    OF  THE   BIBLE. 

said,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  till  thou  bless 
me."  Then  the  angel  blessed  him,  and  he 
saw  him  no  more.  This  was  a  sign  from 
God  to  Jacob  that,  as  he  was  a  match  for 
an  angel,  he  need  not  fear  men. 

He  took  some  of  his  cattle  and  sent 
them  as  a  gift  to  Esau.  He  set  them  in 
droves,  so  that  when  Esau  met  them,  and 
asked  whose  they  were,  the  men  should  say, 
"  They  are  Jacob's.  It  is  a  gift  he  has  sent 
to  my  lord  Esau."  Each  man  who  drove 
the  cattle  was  to  answer  in  this  way,  so  that 
Esau  might  feel  that  Jacob  had  come  as  a 
friend. 

All  at  once  Jacob  looked  up  and  saw 
Esau  coming.  Then  he  called  his  eleven 
sons  and  Rachel  and  Leah  to  go  with  him 
and  meet  Esau. 

When  he  met  Esau  he   bowed    down  to 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  69 

the  ground  seven  times.  Then  Esau  ran  to 
him  and  put  his  arms  round  his  neck  and 
kissed  him,  and  they  both  wept. 

Esau  led  Jacob  to  his  home  and  there 
feasted  him  for  seven  days.  And  when  he 
was  rested  Jacob  set  forth  again,  driving  his 
herds  before  him,  to  make  a  home  for  his 
people  in  the  land  of  Canaan ;  for  he  was  an 
old  man  now,  and  wished  only  to  rest  in  the 
land  of  his  fathers,  and  to  see  his  twelve  sons 
comfortably  placed  in  homes  of  their  own, 
with  their  wives,  their  children,  and  their  flocks 
about  them. 


JOSEPH. 

"  Now  let  us  thank  the  Eternal  Power;   convinced 
That  Heaven  but  tries  our  virtue  by  affliction, 
That  oft  the  cloud  which  wraps  the  present  hour 
Serves  but  to  brighten  all  our  future  days." 

Jacob  had  twelve  sons ;  but  the  one 
dearest  to  the  old  father's  heart  was  Joseph,  a 
lad  of  only  seventeen  years  when  Jacob  came 
back  into  the  land  of  Canaan. 

The    older    of    these    sons   were    selfish, 

-» 
cruel    men ;    and    more    than    that,    they    had 

forsaken  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  were  wor- 
shipping graven  images.  Poor  old  Jacob's 
heart  was  heavy  ! 

"  Go  now  to  Bethel,"  said  a  voice  to  him 
one  night  in  a  dream.  "  Make  an  altar  there 
to  thy  God." 

Jacob  obeyed ;  and  when  the  altar  was 
built,  he  called  his  sons  together  and  told 

70 


STORIES    OF    THE    B1BLB.  71 

them  the  visions  he  had  had.  He  told  them 
the  stronghold  God  had  always  been  to  him  in 
his  life,  and  begged  them  to  forsake  their  idols 
and  turn  again  to  the  true  God. 

Then  Jacob  went  on  to  Hebron,  where 
Abraham  had  lived,  and  where  Isaac  still  lived, 
an  old,  old  man,  nearly  two  hundred  years  old. 

It  was  a  joyous  meeting- -  this  meeting 
between  Isaac  and  Jacob.  Esau,  too,  came, 
and  Isaac  blessed  them  both  and  bade  them 
love  each  other.  Isaac  died  very  soon  after, 
and  Jacob,  an  old  man  now  himself,  sat  in 
the  door  of  the  tent  of  his  fathers. 

To  Joseph,  Jacob  had  given  a  coat  of 
many  colors,  as  a  token  of  his  great  love  for 
him.  And  because  of  this  Joseph's  brothers 
hated  him  only  the  more.  Jealousy  burned  in 
their  hearts,  and  they  plotted  together  to  slay 
the  boy. 


72  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

One  night  Joseph  had  a  vision.  In  the 
dream  eleven  stars  came  and  stood  before  him 
and  bowed  themselves  to  the  ground.  And  a 
voice  said,  "  So  shall  your  brothers  one  day 
bow  before  you." 

Joseph  told  his  vision  to  Jacob  and  to  his 
brothers.  The  father  observed  the  sayings, 
but  the  brothers  were  made  only  the  more 
angry. 

Now,  bis  brothers  spent  their  days  upon 
the  hillside  tending  their  flocks.  And  one  day 
Jacob  said  to  Joseph,  "  Go,  my  son,  and  see  if 
any  evil  has  befallen  your  brothers." 

So  Joseph  set  out.  It  was  a  long  way  to 
the  pasture  lands,  and  the  boy  was  tired  and 
footsore.  And  when  he  reached  the  place  no 
sign  could  he  find  of  his  brothers. 

"  Tell  me,"  asked  Joseph  of  the  men  upon 
the  plains,  "  where  are  my  brothers  that  watch 
their  sheep  here  upon  these  hillsides?" 


STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE.  73 

The  men  answered,  saying,  "  Your  brothers 
have  gone  to  the  place  called  Dothan,  which 
is  many  miles  from  here." 

Then  Joseph,  after  resting,  started  o'n 
towards  Dothan.  There  his  brothers  saw 
him,  and  recognized  him  afar  off  by  the  bright 
colors  of  his  coat. 

"  Here  comes  our  dreamer,"  sneered  one 
brother. 

"  He  who  shall  reign  over  us,"  sneered 
another. 

Then  the  face  of  the  oldest  brother  grew 
black  and  bitter.  "  Let  us  kill  him,"  he  said, 
"  and  cast  him  into  some  pit." 

"  No,"  said  Rueben,  "  we  need  not  stain 
our  hands  with  his  blood.  Let  us  only  cast 
him  into  the  pit,  and  then  tell  our  father  Jacob 
that  a  wild  beast  has  slain  him." 

This  plan  seemed  most  pleasing  to  them ; 


I.KFIH    SOI  O    HY    HIS    BRETHREN. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  75 

and  when  Joseph  came  near,  they  fell  upon 
him,  tore  his  coat  from  him,  and  made  ready  to 
throw  him  into  a  pit. 

But  just  then  there  came  along  the  high- 
way a  company  of  merchants,  bound  for 
Egypt.  They  had  a  long  train  of  camels,  and 
these  were  loaded  with  fruits  and  spices. 

11  Let  us  sell  Joseph  to  these  merchants," 
said  one  of  the  brothers.  And  when  the  mer- 
chants came  up,  they  pushed  Joseph  towards 
them  and  sold  him  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver. 

Then  they  killed  a  kid,  and  dipped  the 
coat  in  the  kid's  blood,  and  went  back  with  it 
to  Jacob. 

"  O  father  Jacob !  This  coat  have  we 
found  by  the  wayside,  and  we  know  not 
whether  it  be  the  coat  of  Joseph  or  not !  " 

The  old  father  looked  at  the  coat.  He 
saw  the  blood  upon  it;  then  he  bowed  his  head 


76 


STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLE. 


DESPAIR   OF    JACOB.       (Sc/lOpitl.) 

and  groaned.     Too  well  did  he  know  it  to  be 
the  coat  of  his  dear  son,  Joseph. 

All  day  long  the  old  man  wept,  refusing 
to  be  comforted.  "  I  will  go  dowrn  into  my 
grave  unto  my  son  mourning,"  he  said.  But 
the  sons  cared  not  for  his  grief.  It  was  enough 
that  they  were  rid  of  the  brother  whom  they 
hated. 


PHARAOH'S    DREAM. 

Poor  Joseph  was  carried  into  Egypt,  and 
there  sold  again  to  a  rich  man,  whose  name 
was  Potiphar.  Potiphar  was  very  proud  of 
his  new  slave,  so  tall  and  strong  and  beautiful 
was  he ;  and  for  a  time  Joseph  dwelt  most 
happily  'in  his  new  home.  But  Potiphar's 
wife  was  a  bad  woman.  And  because  he 
refused,  at  her  desire,  to  do  evil,  she  had  him 
thrown  into  prison  ;  and  to  Potiphar  she  told 
such  stories  about  the  boy  that  for  a  time 
Potiphar  himself  was  deceived,  and  so  per- 
mitted Joseph  to  be  in  prison,  giving  him 
no  opportunity  to  prove  to  his  master  how 
untrue  these  stories  were. 


77 


7-S  STORIES    OF    THE    BIHLK. 

Now,  in  prison  with  Joseph  were  servants 
of  King  Pharaoh.  One  morning,  when  Josepn 
went  to  them,  they  were  downcast  and  sad. 

"  Why  look  ye  so  sad  ?  "  said  Joseph. 

"We  have  dreamed  dreams,  and  we  have 
no  one  to  interpret  them,"  they  said. 

"  It  is  God  who  sends  dreams,"  said 
Joseph.  "Tell  them  tome.  It  may  be  I  can 
interpret  them  for  you." 

Then  one  of  the  servants  told  his  dream. 
"  I  saw  in  my  dream  a  vine  ;  and  in  the  vine 
were  three  branches.  They  budded,  the 
flowers  came,  the  fruit  ripened.  Then  I  took 
Pharaoh's  cup,  gathered  the  grapes  and 
pressed  them  in  the  cup,  and  gave  it  to 
Pharaoh." 

"  Take  courage,  my  brother,"  said  Joseph, 
"  for  it  is  a  good  dream.  The  three  branches 
are  three  days.  The  dream  means  that  in 


STORIES   OF    THE    BIBLE.  T'.i 

three  days  Pharaoh  will  liberate  thee,  and 
thou  shalt  give  the  cup  into  his  hands. 

"  And  do  not  forget  me  when  thou  art 
again  free.  For  I  have  been  sold  into  bond- 
age and  stolen  away  from  Canaan.  Neither 
have  I  deserved  to  be  thrown  into  this 
dungeon.  Speak  then  to  Pharaoh  for  me, 
and  beg  him  to  free  me  from  this  prison." 

Then  the  other  servant  told  his  dream: 
"  I  had  three  baskets  of  meat  upon  my  head. 
They  were  baked  meats  for  Pharaoh.  The 
birds  came  and  ate  the  meat  from  the  baskets." 

"  Alas  !  "  said  Joseph,  "  the  meaning  of 
thy  dream  is  this:  In  three  days  Pharaoh  shall 
hang  thee  upon  a  tree;  and  the  birds  shall 
come  and  eat  thee." 

Now,  as  it  proved,  Joseph  had  interpreted 
the  dreams  aright ;  for  the  power  of  vision  had 
been  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  before 
him. 


JOSEPH    INTERPRETING    I'HAROAH'S    DREAM. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE,  81 

But  the  servant  who  went  back  into 
Pharaoh's  home  forgot  Joseph  when  once  he 
was  free  himself ;  and  so  for  two  long  years 
Joseph  lay  in  prison. 

Then  Pharaoh  himself  had  two  strange 
dreams,  and  no  one  in  the  land  could  interpret 
them.  Then  the  old  servant,  remembering 
how  Joseph  interpreted  his  dream  for  him  so 
long  before,  told  Pharaoh  of  him;  and  Pharaoh 
at  once  freed  him  from  prison  and  bade  him 
come  before  him  to  interpret  his  dreams. 

"  I  dreamed,"  said  Pharaoh,  "  that  I  stood 
beside  a  river.  Seven  fat  kine  came  out  from 
it  and  fed  in  the  meadow.  Soon  seven  more 
came  out,  thin  and  bad.  Then  the  seven  lean 
kine  ate  up  the  seven  fat  kine. 

"  Then  I  awoke.  But  when  I  slept  again, 
I  dreamed  that  seven  good  ears  of  corn 
came  out  upon  one  stem  And  soon  after, 


82  STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 

seven  more,  thin  and  bad.  And  the  seven 
bad  ears  ate  up  the  seven  good  ears." 

"The  dreams,  great  king,"  said  Joseph, 
"  mean  this :  There  shall  be  seven  years  of 
great  fruitfulness  in  the  land.  Then  shall 
come  seven  years  of  famine.  And  the  seven 
years  of  famine  shall  eat  up  all  the  fruitfulness 
of  the  first  seven  years. 

11  Now  let  Pharaoh  take  warning.  Let 
him  hoard  up  all  the  corn  that  can  be  spared 
in  these  first  seven  years.  Then,  when  the 
years  of  famine  come,  there  will  be  corn  for 
all  who  dwell  in  the  land." 

Pharaoh  was  pleased  with  the  wisdom  of 
Joseph.  He  appointed  him  at  once  to  have 
charge  over  the  corn,  and  commanded  the 
people  to  obey  him  in  all  that  he  bade  them 
do.  Then  the  king  gave  him  him  a  ring  and 
a  chain  of  gold  to  wear  upon  his  neck.  He 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  83 

dressed  him  in  fine  linen  and  made  him  a 
golden  chariot.  And  the  people  loved  Joseph 
and  obeyed  him. 

Then  followed  seven  years  of  fruitfulness, 
such  as  even  the  fertile  valley  of  Egypt  had 
never  known  before ;  and  the  people  hoarded 
their  corn  until  their  store  houses  were  full  to 
bursting. 

And  when  every  house  was  full,  then 
began  the  drought  and  famine;  and  no  food 
grew  for  the  people  in  all  the  seven  years 
that  followed.  Great  indeed  might  have  been 
the  suffering;  for  no  rain  came,  no  corn  grew, 
and  everywhere  the  people  were  crying  to 
Joseph  for  food. 

And  the  famine  spread  even  into  the 
country  of  Canaan;  and  Joseph's  own  people 
were  starving. 


JOSEPH    MAKES    HIMSELF   KNOWN   TO   HIS    BRETHREN. 


JOSEPH'S    BROTHERS. 

The  brothers  of  Joseph  heard  that  in 
Egypt  there  was  corn  stored  away  in  plenty ; 
so  they  went  down  into  Egypt  to  beg  for  it. 

They  came  before  Joseph,  and  bowed  low 
before  him,  even  as  in  the  vision  so  long  ago 
it  had  been  foretold  that  they  would  bow 
before  him. 

"  Who  are  you  ? "  said  Joseph ;  for  he 
wished  to  try  his  brothers  and  see  if  they 
would  speak  the  truth. 

"We  are  the  sons  of  Jacob,"  said  they; 
"  and  we  are  come  from  the  land  of  Canaan." 

"  Have  you  any  other  brothers?"  asked 
Joseph. 

"  We  have  one  younger  brother  at  home," 
they  said. 


85 


86  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

"  How  do  I  know  if  you  speak  truly?  Go 
to  your  homes--!  will  give  you  corn  -and 
bring  to  me  your  youngest  brother.  Mean- 
while I  will  hold  one  of  you  here  as  prisoner 
until  you  return.  Then  shall  I  know  if  you 
are  honest  men." 

So  the  nine  brothers  went  back  to  Canaan 
and  told  Jacob  wThat  had  happened  ;  but  they 
did  not  know  it  was  Joseph  they  had  seen. 

And  when  they  told  Jacob  what  the  man 
in  Egypt  had  said,  and  that  Simeon  had  been 
left  a  prisoner,  the  old  father  lifted  up  his 
voice  and  wept.  "  Never,"  said  he,  "  shall 
ye  carry  Benjamin  into  Egypt.  Joseph  ye 
have  lost  to  me,  and  now  Simeon !  And  if 
mischief  befall  Benjamin  by  the  way  in  which 
ye  go,  then  shall  ye  bring  down  my  gray  hairs 
in  sorrow  to  the  grave." 

But    when    all    the    corn    was  eaten    and 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  87 

there  was  no  more  food,  Jacob  was  obliged  to 
send  Benjamin  into  Egypt  with  his  brothers; 
for  they  dared  not  go  without  him. 

Joseph  saw  them  coming,  and  his  heart 
was  glad  when  he  saw  his  brother  Benjamin 
with  them. 

So  he  spoke  to  his  servants  and  bade 
them  make  ready  a  feast  for  the  ten  men  who 
had  come  from  Canaan.  Simeon  he  freed 
from  prison,  and  all  were  received  into  his  own 
home. 

They  came  into  the  banquet  hall,  and 
again  they  all  bowed  low  before  Joseph,  as  in 
the  dream  it  had  been  prophesied  they  should 
do. 

"  Is  thy  father  well  ?  "  Joseph  asked  of  his 
brothers. 

And  the  brothers  answered,  "  Jacob  is 
well." 


88  STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE. 

Then  the  tears  came  into  the  eyes  of 
Joseph,  and  he  looked  with  tenderness  upon 
them  all.  But  they  knew  him  not.  And  in 
the  morning  of  the  next  day  they  set  out  again 
for  Canaan,  their  bags  filled  with  corn. 

But  when  they  were  departing,  Joseph 
said  to  his  steward,  "  Put  my  silver  cup  into 
the  sack  of  the  youngest ;  and  when  they  are 
well  out  upon  the  road,  overtake  them,  make  a 
pretence  of  searching  them  for  it,  and  bring 
back  him  in  whose  sack  you  find  the  cup." 

The  servant  did  as  he  was  bid ;  and  Ben- 
jamin, in  whose  sack,  of  course,  the  cup  was 
found,  was  brought  back  to  Joseph.  Ashamed, 
the  other  brothers  too  came  back  and  fell  at 
Joseph's  feet. 

"  Weep  not,"  said  Joseph.  "  Do  you  not 
know  me?  I  am  your  brother  Joseph,  whom, 
so  many  years  ago,  you  did  sell  into  bondage." 


STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE.  89 

Then  the  oldest  brother  fell  upon  his  face 
before  Joseph ;  and  Benjamin  fell  upon  his 
neck  and  wept  tears  of  joy. 

"  Go  back  now  to  Canaan.  Take  with 
you  wagons  and  horses.  Tell  my  father  that 
I  am  rich  and  happy  ;  that  I  am  governor  over 
the  province ;  and  that  I  send  these  wagons  to 
bear  him  to  me,  that  I  may  look  once  more 
upon  his  face." 

Great  was  the  rejoicing  in  Canaan  when 
the  sons  brought  the  good  tidings  from  Joseph. 
And  straightway  Jacob  and  all  his  family  set 
forth  for  the  land  of  Egypt. 

Eagerly  the  old  father  pressed  forward  to 
meet  his  son.  And  when  Joseph  saw  him 
afar  off,  he  rode  out  in  his  own  chariot  to  meet 
him.  They  fell  upon  each  other's  necks  and 
kissed  each  other ;  and  Jatob  lifted  his  face  in 
prayer  to  God,  who  had  permitted  him  to  see 
again  the  son  he  loved. 


JACOB   GOETH    INTO   EGYPT. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  91 

Then  Joseph  led  them  to  his  own  palace, 
and  a  great  feast  was  held. 

For  seventeen  years  Jacob  dwelt  in  Egypt 
with  his  children,  and  most  happy  were  they, 
now  all  together  once  more. 

But  Jacob  was  now  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  years  old  ;  and  when  he  knew  his 
end  was  near,  he  called  his  twelve  sons  to  him 
and  blessed  them  all.  He  told  them  many 
wonderful  things  which  sometime  would  come 
to  them ;  and  when  he  had  finished  prophesy- 
ing, he  kissed  them  all,  then  lay  back  upon  his 
bed  and  died.  For  seven  days  they  mourned 
for  him  ;  and  then  they  carried  him  to  Canaan 
and  buried  him  in  the  field  of  Macphelar. 

Joseph  returned  to  Egypt,  where  he  lived 
a  long  and  happy  life;  and  when  he  died,  he 
too,  we  trust,  was  carried  back  and  laid  in  the 
burial-place  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob. 


THE  FINDING  OF  MOSES.     (Paul  De laroche. ) 


THE    STORY  OF   MOSES. 

Gently  slumber'd  on  the  wave 

The  new-born  seer  of  old, 
Ordained  the  chosen  tribes  to  save ; 

Nor  deem'd  how  darkly  roll'd 
The  waters  by  his  rushy  bark, 

Perchance  e'en  now  defiled 
With  infant's  blood  for  Israel's  sake, 

Blood  of  some  priestly  child. 

What  recks  he  of  his  mother's  tears, 

His  sister's  boding  sigh? 
The  whispering  reeds  are  all  he  hears, 

And  Nile,  soft  weltering  nigh, 
Sings  him  to  sleep,  but  he  will  wake, 

And  o'er  the  haughty  flood 
Wave  his  stern  rod ;  and  lo  !  a  lake, 

A  restless  sea  of  blood ! 

Joseph  had  been  dead  now  many,  many 
years.  Pharaoh  too  had  died,  and  a  new 
Pharaoh  was  on  the  throne. 

And  all  these  years  the  children  of  the 
twelve  brothers  had  grown  up  and  passed 

93 


94  STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE. 

away.  Many  children  had  been  born  to  them ; 
and  these  too  had  grown  up  and  passed  away, 
leaving  their  children  now  in  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

The  children  of  the  twelve  brothers  had 
been  called  Israelites,  because  to  Jacob  had 
been  given  the  name  Israel.  From  out  the 
clouds  had  God  spoken  to  him  and  said, 
"  Thou  shalt  henceforth  be  called  Israel." 

Now,  the  Israelites  had  always  been  a 
people  apart  from  the  Egyptians.  They  had 
kept  the  faith  of  their  fathers  in  the  midst  of 
the  idolatry  of  the  land  in  which  they  lived. 

The  new  Pharaoh  hated  these  Israelites 
and  made  slaves  of  them.  He  gave  them 
all  manner  of  hard  work  to  do ;  and  at  one 
time  ordered  them,  on  penalty  of  their  lives, 
to  make  for  him  bricks  without  straw. 

At  another  time  he  sent  out  his  soldiers, 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  95 

and  bade  them  slay  every  little  Israelitish  boy 
in  the  land,  that  thus  the  race  might  lx 
exterminated. 

But  this  was  not  to  be.  For,  you  remem- 
ber, it  was  prophesied  away  back  in  the  days 
of  Abraham,  that,  though  the  Israelites  should 
go  out  from  their  land  and  live  for  400  years, 
yet  again  the  time  would  come  when  they 
should  return  to  Canaan,  the  land  the  Lord 
had  blessed  to  them. 

Now,  at  the  time  Pharoah  sent  out  the 
cruel  command,  there  was  among  the  Israelites 
one  mother,  of  the  family  of  Levi,  who  had  a 
beautiful  little  baby  boy. 

"  My  baby  shall  not  be  slain,"  she  said. 
So  she  took  him  down  to  the  river,  made  a 
little  basket,  placed  him  in  it,  and  hid  him  in 
the  bulrushes. 

Every  day,    and    many  times  a  day,    she 


96  STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 

went  down  to  see  that  he  was  comfortable  and 
to  carry  him  food. 

But  one  day  the  daughter  of  the  king 
came  down  to  the  water  to  bathe.  Straight 
towards  the  place  where  the  baby  was  she 
came,  while  Miriam,  the  baby's  sister,  hid 
among  the  bulrushes,  trembling  with  fear. 

"  See  this  poor  little  baby ! "  said  the 
princess ;  and  the  tears  came  in  her  eyes.  "  It 
is  one  of  the  children  of  the  Israelites,"  she 
said,  "  hidden  here  from  the  cruel  soldiers." 

Then  the  kind  woman  lifted  it  from  its 
little  basket  and  held  it  close  to  her  heart. 

Now,  Miriam  was  a  wise  little  girl;  and 
when  she  saw  that  the  princess  was  kind,  she 
came  out  from  the  bulrushes  and  said,  "  Shall 
I  not  bring  you  a  good  woman  to  nurse  the 
little  baby  for  you  ?  " 

Then  the  princess  bade  her  go  with  speed, 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  97 

for    already   the    baby   was   beginning  to   cry. 

Miriam  ran  and  brought  the  baby's 
mother. 

"Take  this  child,  good  woman,"  said  the 
princess,  "  and  bring  it  up  as  your  own.  It 
shall  be  my  child,  and  I  will  name  it  Moses, 
because  I  drew  him  out  of  the  water." 

And  so  the  little  baby  was  taken  back  to 
its  old  home,  and  every  day  the  princess  sent 
to  know  if  it  were  well ;  and  often  she  came 
herself,  bringing  gold  for  its  nurse  and  fine 
linen  for  the  child. 

When  the  baby  grew  to  be  a  boy  the 
princess  sent  him  to  the  wisest  teachers  in 
the  land,  that  he  might  himself  grow  wise 
and  great. 

But  the  true  mother  of  Moses  had  taught 
him  the  religion  of  his  fathers,  and  had  told 
him  the  story  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 


98  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Jacob  and  Joseph.  She  had  told  him,  too,  of 
the  promise  of  God,  that  sometime  the  Israel- 
ites should  again  possess  the  land  of  Canaan. 

To  Moses  this  was  a  wonderful  story ; 
and  he  wished  often  that  he  might  be  the 
prophet  that  was  to  deliver  his  people. 

One  day  Moses  saw  an  Egyptian  cruelly 
beating  an  Israelite.  His  heart  burned  with 
indignation,  and  he  fell  upon  the  Egyptian 
and  slew  him. 

Then  Moses  fled  out  into  the  wilderness  ; 
for  he  knew  he  had  offended  against  the  law. 

On  through  the  wilderness  he  pressed,  till 
he  came  into  the  field  where  a  priest  named 
Jethro  lived.  Jethro  gave  him  food  and 
shelter;  and  it  came  about  that  Moses 
became  one  of  Jethro's  family.  For  a  long 
time  he  dwelt  among  these  people,  tending 
their  flocks,  and  thinking  about  his  poor  people, 
suffering  in  their  bondage  to  the  Egyptians. 


MOSES'   VISION. 

Far  out  across  the  sandy  wild, 
Where,  like  a  solitary  child 
He  thoughtless  roamed  and  free, 
One  towering  thorn  was  wrapped  in  flame  — 
Bright  without  blaze  it  went  and  came, 
Who  would  not  turn  and  see? 

— Kebic. 

One  day,  as  Moses  tended  the  sheep  on 
Mt.  Horeb,  there  appeared  beside  him  a  bright 
light.  And  in  another  instant  a  bush  near  by 
leaped  with  red  flames. 

The  branches  crackled ;  the  tongues  of 
flame  streamed  up  against  the  sky;  but  still 
the  bush  was  not  consumed,  nor  did  it  wither. 

"This  is  strange,"  Moses  thought;  and  he 
went  up  to  the  bush. 

"  Moses!  Moses  !"  called  a  voice  from  out 
the  flames. 


STORIES    OF   TIlK-BI.HkE.  ,01 

Then  Moses  knew  it  was  the  voice  of  the 
Lord ;  and  he  fell  upon  his  knees  before  the 
bush.  He  was  afraid. 

"  The  place  where  thou  standest  it  is  holy- 
ground  !  "  said  the  voice  again.  "  I  am  God, 
the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac  and  of 
Jacob." 

"  I  have  seen  my  people's  sorrow.  I  have 
heard  their  cry.  I  am  come  to  send  thee  to 
Pharaoh.  And  thou  shalt  bring  my  people 
out  of  Egypt." 

"Who  am  I,  O  Lord,"  Moses  cried,  "  that 
I  should  be  chosen  to  go  to  Pharaoh  ?  " 

"  Fear  not,"  said  the  voice  of  God  again. 
"  I  will  be  with  thee.  Go,  and  tell  thy  people 
that  I  sent  thee.  If  Pharaoh  disobey  my  com- 
mand, then  will  I  send  punishment  upon  him. 
Plagues  will  I  send  upon  Egypt,  and  I  will 
bring  out  my  people  safely." 


102!  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Still  Moses  was  afraid.  It  was  a  great 
duty  that  had  been  laid  upon  him.  He  dared 
not  believe  he  could  do  all  that  the  Lord  bade 
him  to  do.  What  if  the  people  refused  to 
believe  him  ? 

"  Throw  thy  rod  upon  the  ground,"  God 
said  to  Moses.  For  he  knew  the  fear  that  was 
in  the  heart  of  the  man,  and  he  meant  to  give 
him  courage. 

Moses  threw  the  rod  upon  the  ground, 
and  behold,  it  was  changed  into  a  serpent. 

"  Take  the  serpent  in  thy  hand,"  com- 
manded the  voice  from  the  burning  bush. 

For  a  moment  Moses  hesitated ;  for  it 
was  a  terrible  serpent,  with  fangs  having 
deadly  poison ;  and  even  the  heart  of  the 
bravest  man  might  well  quail  at  such  a 
command. 

But    Moses    knew   the    Lord    would    not 


STORIES  OF  THE  BIBLE.  103 

allow  it  to  harm  him.  So  he  seized  it  by  the 
tail-  -when  lo!  it  changed  again  to  a  rod. 

"  Now,"  said  the  voice  from  the  bush,  "go 
to  the  people  of  Israel.  Tell  them  these  signs 
I  have  given  to  you  that  they  may  believe  that 
I  have  sent  you." 

Still  Moses  feared.  "  O  Lord,"  he  cried, 
"  I  cannot  speak  well.  My  tongue  is  slow ;  I 
have  no  words." 

But  the  Lord  said,  "  Who  hath  made  thy 
tongue  dumb?  Have  not  I,  the  Lord?  Go; 
obey  my  command  and  I  will  instruct  thee 
what  thou  shalt  say.  Take,  too,  thy  brother 
Aaron  with  thee  ;  and  I  will  teach  both  Aaron 
and  thee  what  to  say." 

Then  Moses  obeyed.  Timid  was  he  still; 
but  the  Lord  gave  him  strength,  and  he  set 
out  from  the  house  of  Jethro  to  deliver  the 
people  of  Israel.  And  as  he  journeyed  towards 


104  STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 

the  city,  the  Lord  spoke,  too,  to  Aaron,  and 
bade  him  to  go  out  to  meet  Moses. 

Then  Aaron  and  Moses  met ;  and  when 
they  met,  they  fell  upon  each  other's  necks  and 
wept. 

Then  they  told  each  other  what  the  Lord 
had  said  to  them,  and  together  they  went  into 
the  presence  of  Pharaoh  and  said,  "  Behold  the 
Lord  hath  told  us  to  come  to  thee,  and  bid  thee 
set  free  the  people  of  Israel." 

But  Pharaoh  sneered  and  said,  "  I  know 
not  the  Lord  of  the  Israelites,  nor  shall  I  set 
the  people  free." 

Instead,  Pharaoh  called  together  his  gov- 
ernors and  bade  them  oppress  the  Israelites 
more  heavily  still ;  to  give  them  more  work 
and  less  pay ;  to  punish  them  ;  and  in  every 
way  to  do  those  things  to  them  that  would 
make  their  yoke  still  harder  to  bear. 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  105 

The  governor  obeyed.  Then  the  poor 
Israelites  blamed  Moses  and  Aaron. 

Moses  went  to  God  with  the  great  burden 
of  care  now  upon  him.  He  was  now  eighty 
years  of  age,  and  the  care  weighed  upon  him 
most  heavily. 

"All  this  I  do  know,"  the  Lord  said. 
"  But  have  trust  in  me.  I  have  heard  the 
groanings  of  my  people.  I  remember  the 
covenant  that  I  made  with  Abraham,  and  I 
will  bring  the  people  out  from  Egypt  into  the 
land  of  Canaan." 


MOSES    AND    AARON    I'.EFORE    PHARAOH. 


THE  PLAGUES  OF  EGYPT. 

Yet  think  not  thou,  amidst  thy  warlike  bands, 
They  lie  beyond  redemption  in  thine  hands. 
The  God  in  whom  they  trust  may  help  them  still, 
They  know  He  can  deliver,  and  He  will  : 
Whether  by  life  or  death  afflicts  them  not ; 
On  His  decree,  not  thine,  they  rest  their  lot. 

—  Montgomery. 

God  gave  to  Moses  and  Aaron  power  to 
do  wonderful  things,  miraculous  things,  that 
through  them  Pharaoh  might  know  that  the 
power  of  God  was  with  them. 

Aaron  went  before  Pharaoh,  and,  throwing 
down  his  rod  before  him,  it  turned  to  a 
serpent.  . 

But  Pharaoh  only  laughed.  "  My  wise 
men  can  do  as  much,"  he  said.  So  he  called 
tnem.  They  also  did  in  like  manner,  but  the 


107 


108  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

rod  of  Aaron  swallowed  up  the  rods  of 
Pharaoh's  wise  men. 

Now,  it  is  the  river  Nile  that  makes  Egypt 
the  fertile,  fruitful  country  that  it  is.  Without 
it  Egypt  would  be  a  burning  desert.  The 
Egyptians  well  knew  this.  One  day  Moses 
went  down  to  the  waters,  and,  stretching  his 
rod  out  over  them,  turned  them  to  blood.  The 
people  were  frightened. 

The  fish  died ;  and  no  man  could  drink  of 
the  water. 

Then  Moses  stretched  out  his  rod  again 
across  the  water  ;  and  behold  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  frogs  came  up  out  of  the  water. 
They  infested  the  land.  The  houses  were  full 
of  them.  They  sprang  upon  the  banquet  table 
of  the  king ;  and  when  he  went  to  bed  they 
were  there  also. 

Then    Pharaoh  sent  for  Moses  and  said, 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIBLE.  109 

"  Take  away  these  horrible  frogs,  and  I  will  set 
thy  people  free." 

Moses  raised  his  rod  again,  and  the  frogs 
disappeared.  There  was  rest  in  the  land 
again. 

But  when  they  were  gone,  Pharaoh 
hardened  his  heart  again.  He  would  not  let 
the  Israelites  go. 

"  Stretch  forth  thy  rod  again,"  came  the 
word  of  God  to  Moses.  He  stretched  forth 
his  rod,  and  another  plague  fell  upon  the 
country.  The  ground  was  covered  with  lice, 
and  the  lice  swarmed  upon  the  animals  and 
upon  the  people. 

Then  Moses  went  to  Pharaoh  and  said, 
"  Let  my  people  go  ;  but  if  thou  wilt  not,  I 
will  send  flies  upon  thee  and  upon  thy  people; 
but  I  will  send  no  flies  upon  the  Israelites." 

But   Pharaoh  would  not  listen.     And  the 


110  STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE. 

flies  came  -  -  wasps  and  biting  insects.  But 
none  of  these  came  near  the  Israelites,  though 
about  the  homes  of  the  Egyptians  they 
swarmed  until  Pharaoh,  beside  himself  with 
torment,  called  upon  Moses  to  deliver  him 
from  the  plague,  promising  again  to  free  the 
people  of  Israel. 

Again  this  plague  was  lifted ;  and  again 
Pharaoh  perjured  his  soul.  For  no  sooner  was 
he  free,  than  again  he  refused  to  let  the  people 

go- 
Then  the  Lord  sent  Moses  again  into  the 

presence  of  the  king.  "  If  thou  wilt  not  let  the 
people  go,"  said  Moses  to  Pharaoh,  "then  a 
plague  shall  fall  upon  the  cattle ;  and  not  one 
shall  be  left  alive  to  all  the  Egyptians ;  but 
those  of  the  Israelites  shall  be  free  from 
harm." 

Pharaoh    made    no    answer;    and    on  the 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  HI 

\ 

morrow  the  plague  fell,  and  not  only  the  cattle 
but  the  magicians  were  covered  with  boils. 
Besides  this,  a  terrible  storm  came.  The  trees 
were  broken  down,  and  the  crops  in  the  fields 
were  destroyed. 

Pharaoh  was  terrified.  Famine  he  knew 
now  would  follow ;  for  they  had  neither  meat 
nor  corn  for  food.  And  again  he  promised 
freedom  to  the  Israelites. 

But  when  the  storm  had  ceased,  and  the 
crops  were  again  growing,  he  forgot  his  terror, 
and  freed  not  the  people. 

Then  the  locusts  came,  millions  upon 
millions  of  them.  They  swarmed  upon  every 
bit  of  green  in  all  the  land  and  devoured  it,— 
the  leaves,  the  grass,  and  the  newly-growing 
crops.  Not  a  leaf  nor  a  blade  was  left.  And 
again  famine  sent  terror  into  the  soul  of 
Pharaoh.  And  again  he  promised  freedom  to 


STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE.  113 

the  Israelites;  and  again  he  refused,  when  the 
plague  was  lifted,  to  keep  his  promise. 

Then  came  a  terrible  darkness  upon  the 
country, —  a  darkness  that  no  light  could 
penetrate. 

"  Go,  Moses,"  said  Pharaoh  again.  "  Go 
out  from  the  land  to  the  land  thou  lovest. 
Go  ;  but  leave  behind  thee  thy  cattle  and  thy 
possessions.  Those  belong  to  Egypt." 

Now,  to  have  set  out  with  the  great  com- 
pany of  the  Israelites  without  cattle  and  corn 
for  food  would  have  been  worse  than  useless  ; 
for  starvation  would  have  come  upon  them. 

Therefore  Moses  answered,  "  No,  Pharaoh, 
the  Israelites  go  not  forth  from  Egypt  without 
their  cattle  and  corn  and  all  that  belongs  to 
them." 

Then  Pharaoh  was  angry,  and  he  drove 
Moses  forth  from  him,  saying,  "  Never  more 
let  me  look  upon  thy  face ! " 


THE   FIRST  BORN   SLAIN. 


STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE.  115 

Moses  went  out  from  the  palace  and  told 
all  that  had  happened  to  the  Lord. 

The  darkness  ended  in  three  days.  Then 
God  said,  "  Now  will  I  send  another  and  a 
greater  plague  upon  Pharaoh ;  and  after  this, 
he  will  let  the  people  go." 

So  God  sent  an  angel  to  smite  the  first- 
born of  all  the  Egyptians.  This  Moses  told 
to  his  people,  and  bade  them  put  a  mark  upon 
their  own  doorsteps,  that  the  angel  might 
pass  by  the  homes  of  the  Israelites,  and  leave 
their  children  unharmed. 

This  the  Israelites  did  ;  and  in  the  night- 
time the  angel  came.  Not  one  house  of  the 
Israelites  did  he  enter;  but  in  every  house  of 
the  Egyptians,  when  the  sun  rose,  there  lay 
the  dead  body  of  the  oldest  child. 

Then  a  groan  went  up  from  the  people. 
There  was  wailing  in  the  streets.  Pharaoh 


116  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

himself  could  bear  no  more.  He  sent  for 
Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  night  time  and  said 
to  them,  "  Rise  up,  you  and  the  Israelites  and 
all  their  children.  Take  all  that  you  have  and 
be  gone." 

Then  Moses  and  Aaron  told  the  people, 
and  bade  them  make  haste  lest  again  Pharaoh 
repent.  But  Pharaoh's  heart  was  too  heavy. 
At  last  his  proud  spirit  was  subdued,  and 
Moses  and  Aaron,  with  600,000  Israelites,  set 
out  for  the  land  of  Canaan. 


THE    DESTROYING    ANGEL. 

He  stopped  at  last, 
And  a  mild  look  of  sacred  pity  cast 
Down  on  the  sinful  land  where  he  was  sent 
To  inflict  the  tardy  punishment. 

"Ah!  yet,"  said  he,  "  yet,  stubborn  king,  repent, 
Whilst  thus  tinarm'd  I  stand, 

Ere  the  keen  sword  of  God  fill  my  commanded  hand  ; 
Surfer  but  yet  thyself  and  thine  to  live : 
Who  would,  alas  !  believe 
That  it  for  man,"  said  he, 
"  So  hard  to  be  forgiven  should  be, 
And  yet  for  God  so  easy  to  forgive  !  " 

Through  Egypt's  wicked  land  his  march  he  took, 

And  as  he  march'd  the  sacred  first  born  strook 

Of  every  womb :  none  did  he  spare, 

None,  from  the  meanest  beast  to  Pharaoh's  purple  heir. 

Whilst  health  and  strength  and  gladness  doth  possess 

The  festal  Hebrew  cottages  ; 

The  blest  destroyer  comes  not  there 

To  interrupt  the  sacred  cheer : 

Upon  their  doors  he  read,  and  understood 

God's  protection  writ  in  blood ; 

Well  was  he  skill'd  i'  the  character  divine ; 
And  though  he  passed  by  it  in  haste, 
He  bow'd  and  worshipp'd,  as  he  pass'd, 

The  mighty  mystery  through  its  humble  sign. 

—  A .   Cowley 

117 


THE    EGYPTIANS    UROWNKU    IN    THE    KEJ>    SEA. 


THE    RED    SEA. 

When  the  Israelites  were  gone,  peace 
settled  down  upon  Egypt  and  all  things 
prospered.  This  was  because  Pharaoh  had 
given  freedom  to  the  people  of  Israel,  and 
so  had  caused  the  displeasure  of  God  to  be 
removed  from  the  land. 

But  Pharaoh  did  not  think  of  it  in  that 
way.  He  began,  rather,  to  think  that  he  had 
done  a  most  foolish  thing  in  allowing  600,000 
faithful  workmen  and  slaves  to  go  out  from 
the  land.  The  Egyptians  needed  their  help  in 

119 


120  STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE. 

brick  making,  and  in  the  planting  and  reaping 
of  the  heavy  crops. 

The  more  he  thought  of  it,  the  stronger 
grew  his  determination  to  bring  the  Israelites 
back.  He  had  forgotten  the  suffering  that 
had  come  to  his  people;  and  perhaps  he  began 
to  think  this  suffering  might  more  easily  have 
been  kept  away. 

So  what  do  you  suppose  the  foolish,  hard- 
willed,  stubborn-hearted  Pharaoh  did  ?  He 
gathered  together  a  great  army  and  started 
out  in  pursuit  of  the  Israelites. 

"  If  only  we  can  overtake  them  before 
they  reach  the  Red  Sea,"  he  thought,  "we  shall 
easily  drive  them  back  into  Egypt." 

Now,  the  Lord  heard  the  wicked  plotting 
of  Pharaoh,  and  although  he  allowed  him  to 
set  forth,  he  allowed  no  harm  to  come  to  his 
chosen  people. 


STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE.  121 

A  great  cloud  he  had  placed  behind  them 
and  all  around  them  as  they  traveled  by  day, 
so  that  by  it  they  were  shielded  from  the 
view  of  any  enemy  that  might  be  lurking  in 
the  neighborhood  of  their  march. 

And  by  night  this  cloud  became  a  pillar 
of  fire,  that  by  its  light  they  might  be  guided 
through  the  strange  wilderness. 

When  Israel,  of  the  Lord  beloved, 

Out  from  the  land  of  bondage  came, 
Her  fathers'  God  before  her  moved, 

An  awful  guide  in  smoke  and  flame. 
By  day,  along  the  astonished  lands 

The  cloudy  pillar  glided  slow;        _  ^ 
By  night  Arabia's  crimson  sands 

Returned  the  fiery  column's  glow. 
There  rose  the  choral  hymn  of  praise, 

And  trump  and  timbrel  answered  keen ; 
And  Zion's  daughters  poured  their  lays, 

With  priest's  and  warrior's  voice  between. 

But  when  Pharaoh  came  upon  the  Israel- 
ites, with  his  great  army  of  horse  and  men  and 


122  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

war    chariots,    they    were    resting    beside    the 
waters  of  the  Red  Sea. 

When  the  Israelites  saw  the  army,  they 
were  stricken  with  fear.  They  forgot  that  God 
had  led  them  thus  far,  and  that  he  had 
promised  to  guide  them  and  bring  them  at 
last,  safe,  into  the  promised  land  of  Canaan. 

They  rose  in  terror ;  and  many  of  them 
began  to  cry  out  against  Moses,  who  had 
allowed  this  danger  to  come  upon  them. 

"  Be  not  afraid  !  "  said  Moses.  And  just 
then  the  pillar  of  cloud  moved  around  so  that 
it  blinded  the  Egyptians.  They  could  not  see 
the  Israelites.  They  could  hardly  see  each, 
other;  for  it  was  like  a  dense  fog  fallen  upon 
them. 

"  Stretch  out  thy  rod  across  the  sea,"  said 
the  voice  of  God  to  Moses.  Moses  obeyed. 
The  waters  parted,  and  the  Israelites  passed 
over  to  the  other  side  unharmed. 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  123 

But  when  they  were  half  across  the  cloud 
lifted,  and  the  Egyptians  saw  the  Israelites. 

Down  into  the  water-parting  they  plunged, 
-  men,  horses,  chariots,  all ;  and  on  they  dashed 
in  quick  pursuit. 

Foolish  Pharaoh !  Did  he  not  know  that 
the  parting  of  the  water  was  not  for  him?  Had 
not  he  yet  learned  that  God  was  with  the 
Israelites  ? 

The  Israelites  were  now  across  the  sea. 
They  were  climbing  the  opposite  bank.  The 
last  man  had  reached  the  top.  Then  Moses 
raised  his  rod  again,  and  the  waters  of  the  sea 
came  together  with  a  great  rushing  sound. 
They  foamed  and  seethed,  and  the  great  army 
of  the  Egyptians  sank  beneath  the  great  pillars 
of  water  that  closed  over  them  on  either  side. 
All  were  drowned ;  and  the  Israelites  were  at 
last  freed  from  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt. 


124  STORIES   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

"  Fly,  Misraim,  fly  !  "  —  From  Edom's  coral  strand 
Again  the  prophet  stretched  his  dreadful  wand  :  — 
With  one  wild  crash  the  thundering  waters  sweep, 
And  all  is  waves  —  a  dark  and  lonely  deep ; 
And  strange  and  sad  the  whispering  breezes  bore 
.  The  groans  of  Egypt  to  Arabia's  shore. 

Then  the  Israelites  halted  in  their  march 
and  held  a  festival  of  thanksgiving;  for  they 
were  now  free  from  their  old  enemy. 

Then  they  went  on  into  the  wilderness. 
And  Miriam,  the  prophetess,  the  sister  of 
Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand  ;  and  all  the 
women  went  out  after  her  with  timbrels.  And 
Miriam  said,  "  Let  us  sing  to  the  Lord,  for 
He  hath  triumphed  gloriously. 

They  offered  sacrifices,  they  prayed  and 
sang,  and  danced. 


MIRIAM'S    SONG. 

Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea ! 
Jehovah  has  triumphed-  -  His  people  are  free! 
Sing! --for  the  pride  of  the  tyrant  is  broken  : 
His  chariots,  his  horsemen,  all  splendid  and 

brave,- 
How  vain  was  their  boasting  !  — the  Lord  hath 

but  spoken, 
And  chariots  and  horsemen  are  sunk  in  the 

wave. 

Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea ! 
Jehovah  has  triumphed-  -  His  people  are  free! 

Praise  to  the  Conqueror,  praise  to  the  Lord  ! 
His  word  was  our  arrow,  His  breath  was  our 

sword  ! 
Who  shall  return  to  tell  Egypt  the  story 

Of  those  she  sent  forth  in   the  hour  of   her 

pride  ? 
For  the    Lord  hath  looked  out   from  his  pillar 

of  glory, 
And  all  her  brave  thousands  are  dashed  in 

the  tide. 

Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea : 
Jehovah  has  triumphed-  -  His  people  are  free! 

-  Moore. 

125 


MOSKS   STRIKING  THE   ROCK    IN   HOREK. 


IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

So  led  He  them,  in  desert  marches  grand, 
By  toils  sublime,  with  test  of  long  delay, 

On,  to  the  borders  of  that  Promised  Land, 
Wherein  their  heritage  of  glory  lay. 

Wonderfully  they  were  being  led.  Surely 
one  would  suppose  they  could  never  doubt 
God  again,  nor  Moses,  the  leader  God  had 
chosen  for  them.  But  alas  !  there  were  many 
among  them  who  seemed  little  better  than 
the  Egyptians,  their  oppressors. 

They  had  gone  only  a  few  miles  when 
they  came  to  the  waters  of  Marah,  which  were 
bitter.  They  were  tired,  and  longed  to  encamp 
for  the  night.  Then  they  began  to  groan  and 
to  cry  aloud,"  O,  why  have  you  brought  us  into 
a  land  where  there  is  no  water?" 


127 


128  STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLE. 

But  Moses,  never  failing  in  trust  and 
patience,  cast  a  tree,  which  the  Lord  had 
shown  him,  into  the  waters,  and  lo !  they 
became  sweet.  The  people  drank  and  were 
satisfied  ;  and  there  they  encamped  and  rested. 

When  God  gave  them  the  sweet  water  to 
drink,  he  said  to  Moses,  "  If  thou  wilt  obey 
me  I  will  be  with  thee  always.  I  will  keep, 
and  bless,  and  strengthen  thee,  thee  and  all  thy 
people.  And  there  shall  come  to  thee  neither 
disease  nor  plague." 

When  the  people  heard  these  words,  they 
were  comforted  and  meant  never  to  doubt 
again.  But  a  few  days  after  this,  when  they 
had  come  into  the  heart  of  the  wilderness,  and 
there  seemed  no  way  of  finding  food,  again 
they  complained  to  Moses  that  he  had  led 
them  into  the  wilderness  to  starve. 

But  God  heard  their  murmurings  and  sent 


STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE.  129 

great  flocks  of  quails  on  which  to  feed  them. 
Thousands  and  thousands  were  there  of  them, 
and  they  covered  the  ground,  the  trees,  and 
the  tents,  so  great  were  their  numbers.  The 
Israelites  caught  them  and  ate  them,  and  their 
hunger  was  appeased. 

"  But  what  shall  we  do  in  the  morning?  " 
the  fretful,  faithless  ones  said. 

And  in  the  morning  the  ground  was 
covered  with  tiny  round  loaves  of  sweet  bread, 
the  manna  thai:  had  been  sent  from  heaven  ; 
for  so  were  the  children  of  Israel  fed  in  the 
wilderness.  And  when,  by  and  by,  again 
there  was  no  water  to  drink,  Moses  struck  a 
great  rock  with  his  rod,  and  the  water  poured 
forth. 

The  children  of  Israel  had  now  come  into 
the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  and  had  pitched  their 
tents  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Moses  was 


130  STORIES    OF    TFIE    BIBLE. 

commanded  by  the  Lord  to  go  into  the  moun- 
tain, while  the  people  rested  in  the  valley 
below.  And  when  Moses  had  reached  the  top, 
God  spoke  to  him. 

"  Go  and  tell  the  Israelites  how  great  a 
thing  God  has  done  for  them,  in  bringing  them 
through  the  Red  Sea  and  freeing  them  from 
the  cruel  king,  Pharoah. 

"  Tell  them  to  remember  that  they  are  my 
chosen  people,  and  that  I  will  be  their  God 
always. 

"  Bid  them  prepare  themselves  for  the 
third  day ;  for  on  the  third  day  will  I  come 
down  upon  this  mountain  and  speak  with 
them.  They  shall  not  come  up  into  the  moun- 
tain. Whosoever  touches  the  mountain  top 
shall  be  put  to  death.  But  when  the  trumpet 
sounds,  then  will  I  speak,  and  they  shall  all 
come  up  into  the  mountain." 


STORIES   OF  THE  BIBLE.  131 

Moses  went  down  into  the  valley  and 
gave  these  words  to  the  people.  So  they  all 
made  ready  for  the  third  day. 

When  the  morning  of  the  third  day  came, 
the  Israelites  looked  up  towards  the  mountain 
top.  Behold,  a  heavy  black  cloud  hung  over 
it,  and  fire  and  smoke  poured  out  from  it,  and 
the  whole  mountain  shook ! 

The  people  were  frightened,  and  ran  and 
hid  themselves.  But  the  trumpet  sounded, 
and  God  descended  upon  the  mountain. 

And  a  voice  called  to  Moses  :  "  Again  say 
to  the  people  that  they  shall  not  come  up  into 
the  mountain.  But  thou,  and  Aaron  with  thee, 
come  thou  up  into  the  mountain." 

And     Moses    and    Aaron    obeyed.      And 

there,  upon  the  mountain  top,  they  beheld  the 

- 
glory  of  God,  like  a  great  cloud  of  glory. 

Then   Moses  and  Aaron  went  down  into 


MOSES   BREAKING   THE   TABLETS   OK   THE   LAW. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  133 

the  valley  to  tell  the  people  what  they  had  seen. 
And  when  they  had  told  the  people,  Moses 
went  back  into  the  mountain ;  for  God  had 
told  him  to  come  there  alone,  that  he  might 
tell  him  how  to  guide  the  great  multitude  that 
had  been  given  to  his  charge. 

It  was  from  Mt.  Sinai  that  God  gave  to 
Moses  the  tablets  upon  which  were  written  the 
Ten  Commandments;  for  Moses  was  in  the 
mountain  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  listening 
to  the  words  that  God  spoke  to  him. 

And  when  so  many  days  had  gone  by  and 
Moses  did  not  return,  then  the  people  began  to 
be  frightened. 

"  Moses  has  gone  away  and  left  us,"  they 
wailed,  "  and  we  have  no  gods  to  guide  us. 
Let  us  make  a  golden  calf  and  set  it  up  before 
us  that  we  may  worship  it."  And  so  they 
built  an  altar,  and  placed  the  golden  calf  upon 
it,  and  held  a  great  feast. 


134  STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE 

They  were  in  the  midst  of  their  feast 
when  Moses  came  down  from  the  mountain, 
the  tablets  in  his  hands. 

"  What  is  this?  "  he  thundered,  as  he  drew 
near  and  heard  the  music  and  saw  the  dancing 
and  the  feasting. 

The  people  were  frightened.  Some  of 
them  ran  to  hide;  and  so  angry  was  Moses 
that  he  hurled  the  tablets  of  stone  from  him 
and  broke  them  in  pieces. 

"Why  didst  thou  allow  this  thing  to  be 
done?"  asked  Moses  of  Aaron. 

"  The  people  gave  me  their  gold  to  melt, 
and  it  came  out  from  the  fire  a  golden  calf," 
answered  Aaron  wreakly. 

Then  Moses  took  the  calf  and  ground  it 
to  powder ;  and  the  3,000  idolatrous  men 
among  them  he  commanded  to  be  slain. 

Then     Moses    went    again    up    into    the 


STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLK. 


185 


mountain,  and  again  wrote  the  ten  command- 
ments upon  tablets  of  stone,  and  again  carried 
them  to  the  people. 

And  now  that  the  children  of  Israel  might 
have  a  place  for  worship,  the  Lord  commanded 
that  the  people  should  make  a  tabernacle,  and 
that  in  it  should  be  kept  the  sacred  tablets. 

So  the  people  went  to  work,  and  every  man 
woman  and  child  had  a  part  in  the  building  of 
the  tabernacle. 


THE    TABERNACLE. 

The  tabernacle  was  made  of  boards,  with 
bars  put  across ;  and  these  bars  and  boards 
were  made  of  shittim  wood  and  covered  with 
gold.  Within  the  tabernacle,  under. the  upper 
end,  were  four  more  pillars ;  a  beautiful  cover- 
ing, called  the  vail,  was  hung  over  them ;  and 
this  hid  the  inside,  which  was  the  most  holy 
place, — "  the  Holy  of  Holies,"  it  was  called. 
None  could  go  in  there  but  the  High  Priest; 
and  he  went  only  once  a  year.  In  the  Holy  of 
Holies  was  placed  the  ark.  The  ark  was  a 
chest,  or  box,  made  of  shittim  wood,  covered 
wTith  gold  ;  and  there  were  rings  in  the  sides 
for  poles  to  be  put  in  when  the  ark  was 
moved.  The  top  .of  the  ark  was  called 

130 


STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLE. 


the  mercy-seat  ;  two  golden  angels,  called 
cherubim,  were  placed  one  on  each  side  of 
the  mercy-seat;  they  looked  over  it,  and  their 
wings  covered  the  top.  In  the  ark  were  after- 
wards kept  the  tables  of  the  commandments, 
Aaron's  rod,  and  afterwards  a  golden  pot  full 
of  manna,  which  God  commanded  to  be  put 
there.  Outside  the  vail  was  the  altar,  on  which 
the  holy  bread,  called  shew-bread,  was  placed, 
and  the  great  gold  candlestick.  The  tabernacle 
stood  in  a  large  open  court  ;  pillars  of  brass 
surrounded  it,  and  curtains  were  hung  upon 
them.  The  brazen  altar  for  burnt  offerings, 
and  the  great  laver  where  the  priests  washed, 
stood  in  this  court.  There  were  coverings  and 
curtains  to  the  tabernacle  and  court. 

Over  the  boards  of  the  tabernacle  was 
thrown  a  covering  of  fine  linen,  beautifully 
worked  in  scarlet,  and  purple,  and  blue;  over 


138  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

the  linen  was  a  covering  of  goat's  hair;  over 
this,  a  covering  of  ram's  skins  dyed  red ;  and 
another  covering  of  thick  skins  was  over  all. 
The  people  were  not  allowed  to  go  into  the 
tabernacle;  but  the  priests  went  in  every 
morning  to  offer  incense,  and  every  evening  to 
light  the  lamps  ;  and  on  the  Sabbath,  to  take 
away  the  old  shew-bread  from  the  table,  and  to 
put  on  new.  The  sacrifices  were  offered  in  the 
court,  where  the  people  stood. 

Now,  when  the  tabernacle  was  set  up, 
Moses  made  Aaron  the  High  Priest  and 
clothed  him  in  the  sacred  garments  of  his 
office, —  the  coat,  the  girdle,  the  robe,  the 
ephod,  the  breastplate,  and  the  mitre.  The 
coat  was  a  long  linen  robe,  with  sleeves,  and 
having  a  girdle  worked  in  blue  and  purple  and 
scarlet.  The  robe  was  a  long,  blue  linen 
garment,  without  sleeves. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  131) 

Around  the  skirts  were  golden  bells, 
which  sounded  whenever  the  High  Priest  went 
into  the  Holy  Place. 

The  ephod  was  a  short  robe,  worked  also 
in  blue,  purple  and  scarlet;  and  around  the 
waist  was  worn  a  girdle  of  gold. 

The  breastplate  was  made  of  cloth,  and 
was  very  thick.  It  had  four  rings  to  join  it  to 
the  ephod,  and  twelve  beautiful  stones  were 
set  in  it ;  and  on  these  stones  were  cut  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel, —  that  is, 
the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob. 

The  mitre  was  a  linen  turban  ;  and  on  the 
front  of  it  were  the  words,  Holy  of  Holies  ! 

When  all  was  ready,  the  children  held  a 
sacred  feast,  and  Moses  anointed  Aaron  with 
oil. 

The  tabernacle  established,  the  Israelites 
were  now  ready  to  move  on  towards  Canaan. 


RETURN   OF   THE    SPIES    FROM   THE    LAND   OF   PROMISE. 


THE    PROMISED    LAND. 

Twelve  men  were  chosen,  one  from  each 
tribe,  and  sent  ahead  to  see  what  manner  of 
place  Canaan  was,  if  there  was  land  enough, 
and  if  the  people  dwelling  there  were  friendly. 

The  twelve  men  set  out,  and  after  forty 
days  came  back  again  to  the  camp,  bringing 
rich  fruits  which  they  had  gathered  there. 
"The  land  of  Canaan  is  a  beautiful  country," 
they  said,  "  and  it  is  filled  with  fruits  and  corn; 
but  we  fear  the  people  there,  for  they  are  fierce 
and  warlike." 

At  this  many  of  the  Israelites  were  fright- 
ened. Again  they  forgot  God's  promises  and 
began  to  upbraid  Moses  for  having  taken  them 
from  their  comfortable  home  in  the  wilderness. 

141 


142  STORIES   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Then  God  was  mgry  with  them  ;  and  he 
spoke  to  them  in  tones  of  thunder,  telling  them 
that  for  their  wickedness  they  should  never  be 
permitted  to  see  the  promised  land  of  Canaan ; 
that  they  should  die  in  the  wilderness;  and 
that  only  the  children  and  the  few  faithful 
elders  should  live  to  reach  the  Promised  Land. 

This  was  a  most  grievous  punishment  to 
the  people ;  but  in  a  few  days  they  had  for- 
gotten it,  and  again  rebellion  arose  among 
them. 

Three  men, — Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram,— 
grew    jealous    of    the    power    of    Moses    and 
Aaron,  and  asked  why  all  glory  should  be  theirs 

Moses,  worn  with  the  faithlessness  of  his 
people,  fell  upon  his  face  and  wept  when  these 
jealous  men  spoke  thus  to  him.  His  heart 
ached  with  the  injustice  of  it,  and  he  despaired 
ever  of  teaching  his  people. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  143 

The  next  day  Korah  and  all  his  people 
came  and  stood  before  the  tabernacle,  as 
Moses  had  bid  them.  Then  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  spoke,  bidding  the  people  move  away 
from  the  tabernacle,  leaving  the  three  doubting 
men  and  their  families  standing  alone. 

Then  there  came  a  burst  of  thunder;  the 
earth  rocked  and  groaned ;  then  a  great  gulf 
opened  beneath  the  feet  of  Korah  and  Dathan 
and  Abiram,  and  they,  with  all  their  children, 
were  swallowed  up. 

Then  God  commanded  Moses  to  take 
twelve  rods;  and  upon  the  rods  to  write  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes.  On  the  rod  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi  he  was  to  write  the  name  of 
Aaron,  because  Aaron  was  of  that  tribe. 

"  Place  now  the  rods  in  the  tabernacle; 
and  the  rod  bearing  the  name  of  him  I  appoint 
High  Priest  shall  bud  and  blossom." 


DEATH  OF  KOKAH,  DATHAN,   AND   ABIRAM, 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIBLK  145 

And  when  the  morning  came,  behold  the 
rod  of  Aaron  had  budded  and  blossomed. 
Then  the  people  were  content ;  and  the  rod 
was  kept  ever  after  in  the  tabernacle. 

For  a  time  peace  was  in  the  camp,  and 
more  than  once  the  Israelites  came  near  unto 
the  Promised  Land.  But  it  had  been  said 
they  should  never  reach  it ;  and  so  many, 
many  times  they  fell  back  and  turned  away. 

Over  and  over  again  they  rebelled  at 
Moses  and  Aaron,  until  the  patience  of  those 
two  was  exhausted.  They  forgot  themselves 
to  ask  for  guidance,  and  once,  unable  to  endure 
greater  trial,  they  cried  out,  "  O  ye  rebels  !  ye 
rebels !  "  and  there  was  anger  in  their  hearts  as 
they  spoke. 

By  and  by  the  time  came  for  Aaron  to 
die.  So  Moses  took  the  priestly  garments 
from  him  and  gave  them  to  Eleazer.  Then 


146  STORIES   OF  THE  BIBLE. 

Aaron  died,  and  the  Israellites  mourned  for 
him  thirty  days. 

Then  the  people  wandered  on  and  on. 
Once  they  were  bitten  by  serpents ;  and  that 
they  might  be  healed,  Moses  lifted  a  brazen 
serpent  in  the  wilderness  and  bade  the  suffer- 
ing ones  to  look  upon  it  and  live. 

But  now  the  forty  years  were  nearly  at  an 
end;  Canaan,  too,  was  very  close  ;  and,  although 
the  elders  knew  that  it  was  not  for  them  to 
see  the  Promised  Land,  yet  their  children 
would ;  and  so  there  was  joy  in  the  camp. 

But  now  the  death  of  Moses  was  at  hand. 
He  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old, 
and  had  wandered  forty  years,  leading  the 
rebellious  Israelites  in  the  wilderness.  So 
God  said  to  Moses,  "  Come  thou  up  into  Mt. 
Pisgah.  From  there  thou  shalt  see  the  fair 
land  of  Canaan  spread  out  before  thee,  although 
thou  mayst  never  go  thither." 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  147 

So  Moses  called  his  people  together  and 
told  them  that  his  end  \\;is  at  hand.  He  told 
them  of  all  God  had  done  for  his  people,  and 
how  wonderfully  they  had  been  led  forth  from 
bondage.  He  then  bade  them  take  Joshua 
for  their  leader ;  for  he  it  was  who  should  lead 
them  into  the  Promised  Land. 

The  people  wept  most  bitterly,  and  many 
prostrated  themselves  before  the  good  man 
who  had  borne  so  much  for  them. 

Then  Moses  turned  and  went  up  into  Mt. 
Pisgah.  There  lay  the  fair  land  of  Canaan  at 
his  feet,  with  its  fertile  valleys  and  rich  fruits 
and  abundant  harvests  of  corn. 

Upon  this  fair  scene  Moses  gazed;  then, 
raising  his  face  towards  God,  thanked  Him  that 
the  wanderings  of  the  children  of  Israel  were 
now  at  an  end. 

Then    he    laid    himself    down     and    died. 


148  STORIES   OF    THE   BIBLE. 

The  Lord  buried  him,  but  no  man  knew  how 
or  where. 

And  when  the  children  of  Israel  knew  he 
would  come  no  more  to  them,  they  wept  too 
for  him  thirty  days  upon  the  plains  of  Moab. 

THE    BURIAL   OF    MOSES. 

By  Nebo's  lonely  mountain,  on  this  side  Jordan's  wave, 
In  a  vale  in  the  Land  of  Moab  there  lies  a  lonely  grave. 
And  no  man  knows  that  sepulchre,  and  no  man  saw  it  e'er, 
For   the   angels  of  God  upturned  the   sod.  and  laid  the  dead 
man  there. 

That  was  the  grandest  funeral  that  ever  passed  on  earth ; 
But  no  man  heard  the  trampling,  or  saw  the  train  go  forth  — 
Noiselessly  as  the  daylight  comes  back  when  night  is  done, 
And  the  crimson  streak  on  ocean's  cheek  grows  into  the  great 
sun. 

Noiselessly  as  the  spring-time  her  crown  of  verdure  weaves, 
And  all  the  trees  on  all  the  hills  open  their  thousand  leaves ; 
So  without  sound  of  music,  or  voice  of  them  that  wept, 
Silently  down  from  the  mountain's  crown  the  great  procession 
swept. 


STORIES   OF  THE  BIBLE.  149 

Perchance  the  bald  old  eagle,  on  gray  Beth-Peor's  height, 
Out  of  his  lonely  eyrie  looked  on  the  wondrous  sight; 
Perchance  the  lion  stalking,  still  shuns  that  hallowed  spot, 
For   beast  and   bird   have  seen   and   heard  that  which  man 
knoweth  not. 

But  when  the  warrior  dieth,  his  comrades  in  the  war, 
With  arms  reversed  and  muffled  drum,  follow  his  funeral  car; 
They  show  the  banners  taken,  they  tell  his  battles  won, 
And   after  him   lead   his   masterless    steed,  while    peals   the 
minute  gun. 

Amidst  the  noblest  of  the  land  we  lay  the  sage  to  rest. 
And  give  the  bard  an  honored  place,  with  costly  marble  drest, 
In  the  great  minster  transept  where  lights  like  glories  fall, 
And  the  organ  rings,  and   the  sweet  choir  sings  along  the 
emblazoned  wall. 

This  was  the  truest  warrior  that  ever  buckled  sword, 
This  the  most  gifted  poet  that  ever  breathed  a  word ; 
And  never  earth's  philosopher  traced,  with  his  golden  pen, 
On  the  deathless  page,  truths  half  so  sage  as  he  wrote  down 
for  men. 

And  hath  he  not  high  honor, —  the  hillside  for  a  pall, 
To  lie  in  state  while  angels  wait  with  stars  for  tapers  tall, 
And  the  dark  rock-pines  like  tossing  plumes,  over  his  bier  to 

wave, 
And   God's  own  hand,  in  that  lonely  land,  to  lay  him  in  the 

grave  ? 

— Alexander. 


THE  STORY  OF  JOSHUA. 

Then  Joshua  led  the  Israelites  forth;  but 
when  they  came  to  the  River  Jordan,  again 
their  courage  failed  them. 

Although  they  had  been  led  through  the 
Red  Sea  in  the  times  of  their  fathers,  and  though 
all  their  lives  they  had  been  told  of  that 
wonderful  deliverance,  still,  when  now  they 
came  to  the  River  Jordan,  their  hearts  grew 
heavy,  and  fear  took  possession  of  them.  Hut 
there  lay  the  country,  fair  and  beautiful.  They 
could  see  it;  and,  with  Joshua  so  brave  and 
true  to  lead  them  on,  they  gathered  up  their 
courage,  and  the  great  company  marched  down 
to  the  river  banks. 

Again  the  miracle  of  the    parting  of  the 

151 


152  STOIUES   OF  THE  BIBLE. 

waters  was  repeated ;  for  the  waters  roared 
and  rushed,  and  heaped  themselves,  like  great 
walls,  on  either  side  while  the  Israelites  passed 
through. 

Meantime  Joshua  had  sent  forward  two 
men  into  the  city  of  Jericho  to  learn  what 
manner  of  people  were  there  ;  for  Jericho  was 
one  of  the  cities  upon  which  the  Israelites 
must  make  war.  These  people  of  Canaan 
were  not  likely  to  give  the  country  into  the 
hands  of  a  new  people  without  a  struggle.  That 
the  Israelites  well  knew.  Then,  too,  these 
were  in  the  days  when  all  nations  were  at  war 
with  each  other,  and  the  possession  of  a 
country  was  always  a  matter  of  force  and 
strength, —  one  people  overcoming  the  other. 

When  the  two  Israelites  came  into  Jericho, 
they  sought  the  house  of  a  woman  named 
Rahab ;  and  from  her  learned  all  those  things 
about  the  city  that  they  needed  to  know. 


STOREES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  \53 

But  the  king  of  Jericho  heard  that  two 
Israelites  were  in  the  city,  and  at  once  he 
suspected  them  of  being  spies.  Accordingly 
he  sent  messengers  to  seize  them  and  put 
them  in  prison.  The  messengers  came,  bear- 
ing with  them  the  authority  of  the  king;  but 
the  two  men  were  hid  away  by  Rahab,  and  the 
messenger  went  away. 

"  I  know,"  Rahab  said,  (t  that  this  land 
belongs  to  you ;  that  God  hath  promised  it  to 
you  ;  for  I  have  heard  of  the  wonderful  things 
that  God  hath  done  for  you  and  your  people. 
Because  of  this  I  have  hidden  you  beneath  the 
flax  on  the  housetop ;  and  now,  when  your 
people  come  to  take  the  city,  forget  not  me. 
Tell  your  people  the  protection  given  you  in 
this  house ;  then  shall  your  soldiers  spare  me 
in  the  downfall  of  the  city." 

Then  the  Israelites  promised  that,    in  the 


154  STORIES    OF   THE   BIBLE. 

ransacking  of  the  city,  this  woman  Rahab 
should  be  spared. 

"  When  we  are  gone,"  they  said,  "  fasten  a 
red  cord  upon  the  window  of  the  house.  Then, 
when  we.  enter  the  city,  the  house  in  whose 
window  the  red  cord  is,  shall  be  spared." 

At  night  the  woman  let  the  Israel- 
ites down  from  the  roof  of  the  house  by  a 
rope,  and  they  hurried  away  to  join  the 
Israelites. 

In  a  few  days  the  army  of  the  Israelites 
appeared  before  the  walls  of  Jericho.  The 
gates  were  closed,  and  the  king's  armies 
within  were  ready  to  resist  the  attack. 

What  were  the  Israelites  to  do  ?  Should 
they  attack  the  city  with  battering  rams  and 
meet  the  people  with  spears  and  swords  ? 

This  was  the  way  of  besieging  cities  in 
those  days ;  and  it  was  for  this  kind  of  an 


STORIES    OF   TllK    BIBLE.  155 

attack  that  the  people  within  were  prepared. 
But  this  was  not  the  way  the  Israelites  were 
to  do  their  work ;  for  God  had  told  them,  even 
while  in  the  wilderness,  that  the  walls  of 
Jericho  were  to  be  beaten' down  in  a  way  most 
strange.  They  were  to  take  their  Ark  up  to 
the  walls  of  the  city.  They  were  to  draw  up 
their  soldiers  in  line.  The  priests  were  to  bear 
the  Ark,  and  together  all  were  to  march  around 
the  city,  the  priests  blowing  their  trumpets  as 
they  passed  before  the  Ark. 

Not  a  spear  was  to  be  thrown ;  not  a 
sword  was  to  be  drawn.  For  seven  days  they 
were  to  do  this  ;  but  on  the  seventh  day  they 
were  to  march  seven  times  around  the  city. 
Then,  amid  the  shouting  of  the  people  and  the 
blowing  of  the  trumpets,  the  walls  would  fall ; 
and  so  the  city  would  lie  open  before  them. 
All  this  the  Israelites  did;  and  on  the  seventh 


THK    WALLS    OF   JKKICIID    CALLING    1)(>\VN. 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  157 

day  it  came  about  even  as  Joshua  said  it 
should,-  the  walls  fell  with  a  terrible  crash. 
Then  the  Israelites  marched  in  and  took  the 
city.  The  house  of  Rahab  they  did  not  forget. 
They  brought  her  and  all  her  family  oiLt  from 
the  burning  city  and  placed  her  in  safety 
among  their  own  women  and  children. 

Great  loads  of  gold  and  silver  and  brass 
and  iron  they  took  from  the  city.  All  of 
this  they  saved  for  the  building  of  a  temple; 
for  they  had  been  warned  to  save  no  part  of 
the  city's  wealth  for  their  own  use. 

In  all  this  the  Israelites  obeyed,  save  one 
man.  He,  Achan,  thinking  no  one  saw  him, 
took  some  of  the  riches  and  carried  them  away 
and  hid  them.  Now,  Joshua  knew  nothing 
of  all  this ;  but  the  next  day,  when  the  army 
went  against  the  little  city  of  Ai,  behold  the 
Israelites  were  driven  back  defeated. 


158  STORIES   OP  THE   BIBLE. 

Even  Joshua's  heart  was  heavy.  He  could 
not  see  why  it  should  have  been  ;  but  when  he 
knelt  before  God,  God  said  to  him,  "  Never  can 
I  fight  for  my  people  while  there  is  sin  among 
them.  Go  find  Achan;  he  hath  hidden  gold  in 
the  tent.  Accuse  him  before  the  people  and 
put  him  to  death.  Then  again  shall  success 
be  with  the  Israelites." 

Joshua  went  before  his  people  and  told 
them  what  God  had  said  to  him.  Then  Achan 
was  called  before  the  Israelites  and  put  to 
death. 

u  Now,"  said  Joshua,  "  let  us  go  against 
the  city  of  Ai  again."  They  went ;  and  this 
time  the  city  was  taken,  and  the  people 
bowed  before  the  power  of  the  Israelites, 
acknowledging  them  as  their  masters. 


THE    GIBEONITES. 

The  sun  stood  still,  the  moon  it  stayed 
Till  Israel's  vengeance  was  allayed 

Upon  his  enemy, 
Pausing  all  that  awful  day 

And  glowing  brilliantly. 

While  these  cities  were  being  taken,  the 
Gibeonites  had  heard  of  the  coming  of  the 
Israelites  and  of  their  great  conquests.  Now, 
these  Gibeonites  were  a  strong  people;  and  so, 
when  they  heard  these  things,  they  made 
preparations  for  the  attack  which  they  feared. 
First,  they  sent  messengers  to  Joshua. 

"  We  wish  to  make  peace  with  you,"  the 
messenger  said. 

"  If  you  are  Canaanites,"  said  Joshua,  "we 
can  make  no  peace  with  you." 

"  But   we  are   not   Canaanites,"   the    mes- 


15'J 


160  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

sengers  said.  "  Behold  we  come  from  a  great 
distance.  Do  you  not  see  how  dry  our  bread 
is,  and  how  broken  our  bottles  are  ?  Our  shoes, 
too,  see  how  they  are  worn  !  All  these  were 
new  when  we  began  our  journey ;  but  we  have 
been  so  long  on  the  road,  they  are  worn.  We 
have  heard  of  your  coming,  as  have  all  the 
kings  round  about  our  country.  We  know 
how  great  is  your  power;  and  that  is  why  we 
have  come  to  beg  you  to  be  at  peace  with  our 
people." 

Now,  this  story  was  in  no  wise  true ;  but 
Joshua  believed  it,  and  the  Gibeonites  went 
away  pleased  indeed  that  they  had  succeeded 
so  well. 

But  a  few  days  after,  Joshua  learned  that 
these  Gibeonites  had  been  untrue  to  him,  and 
that  they  dwelt  in  the  very  midst  of  the  country 
of  Canaan. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  161 

"Why  have  you  deceived  us?"  he  asked 
of  their  leaders. 

The  leaders  could  make  no  reply.  They 
could  only  say,  "  But  you  promised  not  to  slay 
us." 

"  That  is  true,"  Joshua  replied.  "  And  we 
will  not  break  our  promise.  We  will  not  slay 
you  ;  but  we  will  take  all  prisoners,  and  you 
shall  serve  us  as  slaves  all  the  days  of  your  life." 

The  Gibeonites  were  heavy  hearted  indeed. 
They  had  fallen  into  their  own  pit ;  for  they 
would  rather  have  died  than  become  slaves. 
But  now  there  was  no  hope  for  them,  and  they 
could  only  bow  their  proud  heads  beneath  the 
yoke. 

Hardly  had  the  Israelites  and  the  Gibeon- 
ites made  peace  with  each  other  in  this  way, 
when  down  came  the  Amorites  upon  the 
Gibeonites  to  fight  them. 


JOSHUA   COMMANDING   THE   SUN   TO    STAND   STILL. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  163 

The  Gibeonites,  frightened  at  the  appear- 
ance of  the  great  army,  fled  to  Joshua  for  help. 

"  We  shall  protect  you  as  our  servants 
and  slaves,"  was  the  answer.  And  so,  when 
the  Amorites  came,  it  was  the  Israelites  that 
marched  out  against  them. 

A  terrible  battle  followed.  For  a  time  no 
one  could  have  told  which  army  was  to  be 
victorious.  Many  were  falling  among  the 
Amorites  ;  still  their  army  was  pressing 
forward. 

If  only  the  day  would  not  come  to  an 
end!  If  only  the  darkness  would  not  fall!  If 
only  they  might  keep  on  with  the  battle  till  the 
Amorites,  exhausted,  should  fall  back!  To 
give  up  the  battle  and  begin  again  in  the 
morning  would  be  to  give  the  Amorites  oppor- 
tunity to  regain  strength  and  courage. 

Then  the  thought  came  to  Joshua,  "  Why 


DESTRUCTION    OF   THE    AKMY    OF    THE    AMOEITP< 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIBLE.  165 

should  night  come?  Why  should  not  the  sun 
and  the  moon  stand  still  in  the  heavens  until 
this  battle  is  finished  and  the  Amorites  are 
driven  back  ?  " 

And  as  he  thought,  lo !  the  prayer  was 
answered,  and  the  sun  and  the  moon  did  stand 
still. 

Hour  after  hour  passed ;  the  two  armies 
fought  on ;  the  Amorites  grew  weaker  and 
weaker.  Why  did  not  the  sun  go  down  ? 
Why  did  the  darkness  not  come  to  give  them 
rest? 

At  last  the  Amorites  could  hold  out  no 
longer.  The  army  turned  and  fled.  The 
Israelites  pursued.  The  kings  hid  themselves 
in  a  great  cave.  But  Joshua  pursued  these 
still.  He  rolled  great  stones  up  before  the 
cave  and  held  them  there  prisoners.  Then, 
when  the  Amorites  had  been  scattered,  Joshua 


166  STORIES   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

came  back  to  the  cave,  brought  out  the 
offending  kings  and  slew  them  all. 

So  the  contention  for  the  possession  of 
the  land  of  Canaan  went  on.  One  by  one  the 
tribes  were  overcome ;  and  at  last  Canaan  was 
in  the  control  of  the  Israelites. 

But  now  Joshua  had  grown  to  be  an  old 
man.  He  knew  that  the  end  of  his  life  was 
near  at  hand.  So  he  called  the  people  together 
and  told  them,  even  as  Moses  had  told  them, 
of  all  the  wonderful  things  that  had  happened 
to  God's  chosen  people  in  all  the  four  htmdred 
years  since  they  had  come  out  of  Egypt. 

Then  he  appealed  to  them  in  the  name  of 
God,  who  had  led  them  safely  into  the  land  of 
Canaan  ;  he  begged  them  never  to  forget  that 
they  were  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  that  the 
religion  of  the  people  into  whose  land  they  had 
come,  an  idolatrous  religion,  was  not  for  them. 


STORIES  OF  THE  BIBLE.  1 67 

Then  the  people  all  promised  to  be  true 
to  the  religion  of  their  fathers;  and  Joshua, 
taking  the  great  book  of  the  law,  wrote  their 
promise  in  it.  More  than  that,  he  rolled  a 
great  stone  up  beneath  an  oak  tree  and  said, 
"  Look  at  the  great  stone.  It  has  heard  your 
promise  that  you  will  serve  always  the  one 
God.  Guard  that  stone ;  and  let  it  be  a 
remembrance  to  you  of  the  promise  you  have 
made." 

The  people  went  away  sad  at  heart;  for 
they  knew  they  should  never  look  again  upon 
their  patient  leader  and  teacher,  who  had  been 
so  faithful  and  true  to  them  in  all  the  years  he 
had  been  with  them. 


EHUD   AND    DEBORAH. 

For  a  few  years  the  Israelites  remembered 
their  promise ;  but  alas !  they  were  very 
prone  to  sink  back  into  the  idolatry  which 
surrounded  them.  And  it  was  not  very  long 
before  they  were  worshipping  idols,  even  as 
were  the  heathen  tribes  round  about  them. 

And  again  God  sent  cruel  enemies  to 
fight  against  them;  again  they  cried  to  Him, 
and  He  heard  them.  For  eighteen  years  they 
served  Eglon,  the  cruel,  wicked  king  of  Moab. 
But  at  last  God  sent  the  Israelites  a  man  to 
help  them,  whose  name  was  Ehud. 

Ehud  told  them  to  send  a  present  to 
Eglon,  and  he  would  be  its  bearer.  The 
Israelites  did  this,  and  Ehud,  making  a  dagger. 


169 


170  STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

and  hiding  it  under  his  clothes,  went  to  Moab. 
When  he  came  to  the  king  he  said,  "  I  have  a 
secret  to  tell  and  must  see  the  king  alone." 
So  Eglon  sent  away  his  servants.  When  they 
were  alone,  Ehud  took  out  his  dagger  and 
thrust  it  into  the  king's  body.  Then  Ehud 
ran  out  from  the  room,  locked  the  doors  after 
him,  and  so  escaped. 

No  one  saw  Ehud  go ;  and  when  the 
servants  found  the  doors  locked,  they  thought 
their  master  had  fallen  asleep,  and  so  they 
made  no  attempt  to  go  in.  Many  hours 
passed.  At  last  the  servants  began  to  wonder 
why  the  king  did  not  send  for  them.  Night 
came  on.  Still  the  king  did  not  awake ;  and 
so,  at  last,  they  took  a  key  and  opened  the  door. 

What  did  they  see?  There  lay  the  king 
upon  the  ground, —  dead  ! 

Ehud,  meantime,  had    come    back  again, 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  171 

bringing  many  soldiers  with  him ;  and  the 
Israelites  fought  against  the  Moabites  and 
conquered  them. 

For  some  time  after  this  the  people  held 
firmly  to  their  faith,  and  Ehud  led  them.  But 
Ehud  died ;  and  then  the  Israelites  again 
rebelled  against  God.  Again  God,  to  punish 
them,  sent  Jabin,  king  of  Canaan,  to  fight 
against  Israel ;  and  he  conquered  them.  This 
king  was  very  cruel,  and  they  suffered  much 
under  his  power  for  twenty  long,  terrible  years. 

Now,  there  was  a  very  good  woman  living 
at  that  time,  named  Deborah.  She  dwelt 
under  a  palm  tree,  between  Ramah  and  Bethel. 
There  she  prayed  and  sang,  and  talked  to,  and 
taught  all  the  people  who  came  to  see  her. 
Deborah  was  a  very  wise  woman  and  had  the 
gift  of  prophecy.  And  so  it  came  about  that, 
when  the  Israelites  began  to  cry  to  God, 


172  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Deborah,  at  His  command,  sent  for  a  brave 
man  named  Barak,  and  said  to  him,  "  Go  now 
and  call  men  out  of  the  tribes  of  Zebulon  and 
Naphtali,  and  take  them  to  fight  against 
Sisera,  the  captain  of  Jabin's  army.  God 
promises  to  give  us  the  victory."  Barak  said, 
"  If  thou  wilt  go  with  me,  I  will  go."  So 
Deborah,  with  Barak  and  10,000  men,  went  to 
fight  against  Sisera.  "  Do  not  kill  Sisera," 
Deborah  said ;  "  for  God  will  give  the  wicked 
captain  into  the  hands  of  a  woman." 

So  Barak  and  his  army  went  and  fought 
against  Sisera.  Very  soon  the  Israelites  won 
the  victory,  for  it  was  as  Deborah  had 
prophesied.  Then  Sisera  came  down  from  his 
chariot  and  fled  from  Barak. 

There  was  a  man  named  Heber,  who 
was  at  peace  with  Jabin  ;  and  Sisera  ran  to 
Heber's  tent  for  safety.  When  the  man's  wife, 


STORIES   OF    THE   BIBLE.  173 

Jael,  saw  Sisera  coming,  she  went  out  to  meet 
him  and  said,  "  Come  in,  come  in,  and  fear 
not."  So  Sisera  came  in  and  lay  down  ;  and 
Jael  covered  him  with  a  mantle.  He  asked 
for  water;  and  she  gave  him  milk,  which  he 
drank;  and  then  he  lay  down  again. 

"  Stand  by  the  door,"  he  said,  "  and  if  any 
one  ask  if  I  am  here,  say  '  No.'  '  Then  Sisera 
fell  asleep,  for  he  was  weary  with  fighting  and 
running  so  far;  and  when  he  was  asleep,  then 
Jael  went  very  softly,  took  a  large  nail  and  a 
hammer,  and  hammered  the  nail  into  Sisera's 
head  and  down  into  the  ground. 

After  this  war  forty  years  passed  most 
happily  and  safely.  The  Israelites  lived  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  he  kept  them  in  peace  and 
gave  them  rest  from  their  enemies. 

But  when  the  forty  years  were  passed,  the 
Israelites  again  loved  evil ;  and  again,  too, 
sorrows  and  punishments  came  upon  them. 


174  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE 

First,  the  Midianites  came  to  be  their 
enemies.  They  came  in  great  numbers ;  they 
brought  their  camels  and  their  cattle  with 
them,  and  pitched  their  tents  in  the  land  of  the 
Israelites.  The  Israelites  left  their  pleasant 
houses  and  fields,  and  ran  to  hide  in  dens  and 
caves,  for  fear  of  the  cruel  Midianites. 

The  pleasant  land  became  barren  and 
desolate.  Then  the  Israelites  cried  again  to 
the  Lord,  for  they  knew  that  He  could  deliver 
them,  and  He  alone. 

God  sent  an  answer  to  them  by  a  prophet: 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  '  I  brought  you  safely 
out  of  Egypt  and  delivered  you  from  the  cruel 
Egyptians,  and  drove  away  your  enemies,  and 
gave  you  the  land  of  Canaan  for  a  possession ; 
and  I  commanded  you  to  obey  and  serve  Me, 
and  not  to  worship  the  idols  of  the  people  who 
live  near  you  ;  but  you  have  not  obeyed  My 
command.' "  Then  the  prophet  went  away. 


THE  STORY  OF  GIDEON. 

Now,  there  was  a  man  (living  at 
Ophrah,)  whose  son  was  named  Gideon. 
Gideon  was  a  true  servant  of  the  Lord;  but 
his  father  was  an  idolater  and  a  worshipper  of 
Baal.  One  day  Gideon  was  threshing  wheat 
in  a  hidden  place,  lest  the  idolaters  should  see 
him  and  come  and  take  his  corn  from  him. 
Gideon's  heart  was  full  of  sorrowful  thoughts 
as  he  threshed  the  wheat ;  but,  as  he  looked 
up,  he  saw  an  angel  near  him,  sitting  beneath 
an  oak.  And  Gideon  heard  him  say,  "The 
Lord  is  with  thee." 

When  Gideon  heard  the  angel  speak,  he 
looked  up  with  wonder.  "  Is  the  Lord  with 
us?"  he  cried.  "Then  why  does  He  let  the 


175 


176  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Midianites  come  and  destroy  us?  Why  does 
He  not  work  miracles  for  us,  as  He  did  for  our 
fathers,  and  deliver  us  from  our  enemies?" 
But  the  angel  said  again,  "Go  now,  I  send  thee 
to  save  Israel  from  the  Midianites/1 

Gideon  was  frightened ;  he  had  faith,  but 
his  faith  was  weak  and  small.  He  could  not 
believe  that  he  could  save  Israel. 

"  How  can- 1  save  my  brethren  ?  "  he  said. 
"  I  am  poor ;  all  my  family  are  poor,  and  I  am 
least  in  my  father's  house."  But  the  angel 
said  again,  "  I  will  be  with  thee ;  I  will  give 
thee  power  to  smite  the  Midianites." 

Gideon  wondered.  Could  it  be  an  angel 
that  was  talking  to  him?  An  angel  could 
give  him  power  to  conquer  his  enemies  ! 

"  Wilt  thou  give  me  a  sign  that  I  may 
know  who  thou  art  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Stay  till  I 
come  again,  and  bring  my  offering  with  me." 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  177 

Then  Gideon  hurried  away  and  made  ready 
a  kid  and  cakes  of  flour.  He  put  the  flesh  into 
a  basket  and  the  broth  into  a  pot,  and  brought 
all  out  to  the  oak  tree  where  the  angel  waited. 

Now,  the  angel  did  not  need  food  to 
strengthen  him,  but  he  accepted  Gideon's  offer- 
ing, and  told  him  to  lay  the  flesh  and  cakes 
upon  the  rock,  and  to  pour  out  the  broth. 
Gideon  hardly  knew  why,  but  he  obeyed ;  and 
then  the  angel  of  the  Lord  touched  with  his 
staff  the  flesh  and  the  cakes,  and  fire  came  out 
of  the  rocks  and  consumed  them? 

The  angel  went  away.  Gideon  knew  not 
how  or  where  ;  but  he  knew  who  the  angel 
was.  Then  Gideon  cried  with  fear,  "  O,  Lord 
God !  for  I  have  seen  an  angel  of  the  Lord  face 
to  face." 

And  a  voice  answered,  "  Peace  be  unto 
thee ;  fear  not,  thou  shalt  not  die ; "  and 


178  STORIES   OF    THE   BIBLE. 

Gideon  named  the  place,  "  Jehovah-shalom," 
or  "  The  Lord  send  peace ;"  and  he  built  an 
altar  there  to  the  Lord. 

Again  the  angel  of  the  Lord  God  spoke  to 
him.  "  Take  thy  father's  bullock  and  throw 
down  the  altar  of  Baal  which  thy  father  has. 
Build  there  an  altar  unto  the  Lord  and  offer 
the  bullock  in  sacrifice  upon  it." 

Now,  Gideon's  family  all  worshipped  this 
Baal,  and  they  would  be  very  angry  if  the  idol 
altar  was  thrown  down;  it  might  be  they  would 
kill  Gideon.  But  Gideon  rose  and  went  at 
once  to  destroy  Baal's  altar,  lest  the  men  of 
the  city  should  try  to  prevent  him  if  he  waited 
until  morning  came. 

When  the  people  rose  next  day,  they  won- 
dered to  see  Baal's  altar  thrown  down,  the  new 
altar  to  God  ready  built,  and  a  bullock  offered 
upon  it.  "Who  did  all  this?"  they  asked. 


STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE.  170 

Gideon  was  not  afraid  to  confess  the  truth. 
He  was  bold,  because  he  knew  God  was  with 
him.  But  the  people  were  angry  with  Gideon. 
"  Bring  out  thy  son,"  they  said  to  Joash,  "  that 
we  may  slay  him  !  " 

Before  Gideon  began  to  fight,  he  prayed ; 
"  Give  me  now  a  sign,  that  I  may  know  that 
Thou  wilt  be  merciful  to  the  Israelites.  I  will 
put  a  fleece  of  wool  upon  the  ground  to-night; 
in  the  morning  I  will  look  at  it,  and  if  I  see 
the  fleece  wet  with  dew,  and  all  the  ground 
dry,  then  I  shall  know  that  Thou  dost  promise 
to  save  us  from  our  enemies/' 

Gideon  put  the  fleece  of  wool  upon  the 
ground,  for  God  had  heard  his  prayer.  In  the 
morning,  when  Gideon  looked  at  it,  it  was  so 
wet  that  he  wrung  from  the  fleece  a  bowlful  of 
water,  though  there  was  no  dew  upon  the 
ground. 


STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE.  181 

The  next  night  Gideon  again  tried  the 
fleece.  "  To-night  let  the  fleece  alone  be  dry, 
and  all  the  ground  wet,  and  then  I  shall  know 
that  Thou  wilt  save  Israel,"  he  prayed.  The 
next  morning  all  the  ground  was  wet  with  dew, 
and  the  wool  alone  was  dry.  And  now  Gideon 
was  convinced.  He  asked  no  further  proof. 

Gideon  had  many  thousand  men  to  fight 
with  him.  But  God  wished  to  teach  the 
Israelites  that  He  alone  could  save  them.  So 
he  told  Gideon  to  say  to  the  soldiers,  "  Those 
who  are  afraid  may  return  home  and  not  come 
into  the  battle."  Gideon  did  as  he  was  told ; 
and  22,000  of  the  soldiers,  struck  with  fear, 
went  away,  leaving  only  10,000  to  meet  the 
foe.  But  God  said,  "  I  do  not  want  even  so 
many;  if  all  these  soldiers  go  the  Israelites 
will  say  that  their  own  power  and  courage 
gained  the  victory.  Bring  the  10,000  men 


182  STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE. 

down  to  the  water  and  let  them  drink.  Notice 
the  men  who  lap  the  water  like  a  dog  and  put 
them  on  one  side ;  and  the  men  who  kneel 
down  to  drink  water,  put  on  the  other  side ; 
and  I  will  tell  thee  whom  I  will  choose  to  fight 
against  the  Midianites." 

Gideon  obeyed.  He  brought  the  soldiers 
to  the  water  and  told  them  to  drink.  Three 
hundred  of  them  lapped,  putting  their  hands  to 
their  mouths ;  but  most  of  them  stooped  down 
on  their  knees  to  drink.  Then  God  said,  "  By 
the  300  men  who  lapped  the  water  will  I  save 
you  ;  let  all  the  others  return  home." 

Gideon  had  a  very,  very  small  army  now. 
The  Midianites  were  in  great  numbers,  the 
Israelites  only  300.  It  was  the  night  before 
the  battle.  To-morrow  Gideon  and  his  army 
must  fight  against  their  cruel  enemies,  the 
Midianites. 


STORIES   OP   THE   BIBLE.  ]  .*;; 

When  Gideon  was  lying  down  to  rest, 
and  his  300  soldiers  by  him,  he  heard  a  voice 
calling  to  him.  Was  it  an  enemy  come  to  kill 
him  and  his  little  army?  No,  it  was  the  voice 
of  God.  "  Arise,  go  down  to  the  army  of  the 
Midianites,"  the  voice  said.  "  If  thou  fear  to 
go  alone,  take  Phurah,  thy  servant,  with  thee. 
Go,  and  hear  what  the  Midianites  are  saying; 
for  afterwards  thou  shalt  feel  strengthened  to 
go  down  to  the  army." 

So  Gideon  and  his  servant,  Phurah,  went 
as  God  had  commanded.  The  tents  of  the 
Midianites  and  the  Amalekites  covered  the 
whole  valley.  The  soldiers  were  sleeping  in  the 
tents,  and  their  camels  lay  by  them.  So  many 
were  they  that  Gideon  could  not  count  them. 
But  the  Midianites  were  not  all  asleep ;  some 
were  making  ready  for  the  morrow,  some  were 
talking ;  but  none  of  them  saw  Gideon  and  his 
servant. 


184  STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE. 

There  were  two  men,  Midianites,  talking- 
together,  and  Gideon  and  Phurah  went  near  to 
them.  "  I  dreamed,"  said  one,  "  that  I  saw  a 
cake  of  bread  tumble  into  the  hosts  of  the 
Midianites ;  I  saw  it  fall  upon  a  tent,  and  the 
tent  was  overturned  and  thrown  down."  "  That 
cake,"  his  friend  answered,  "  is  Gideon,  the 
commander  of  the  Israelites ;  he  will  fall  upon 
us  and  destroy  our  army,  because  God  is  with 
him." 

When  Gideon  heard  this  tale,  he 
rejoiced.  He  now  felt  sure  of  the  victory. 
Then  he  and  Phurah  went  back  to  the 
Israelites,  and  Gideon  said,  "  Arise,  for  God 
gives  the  Midianites  into  our  hands." 

Then  Gideon  divided  his  army  into  three 
companies,  and  gave  to  every  man  a  trumpet 
and  a  pitcher,  with  a  lamp  in  every  pitcher. 
They  had  no  swords,  nor  spears,  nor  bows, 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  185 

nor  arrows.  Then  Gideon  said,  "-Come  with 
me  and  do  as  I  do.  When  I  blow  the  trum- 
pet, you  must  blow  too,  and  cry,  '  The  sword 
of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon/  '  It  was  still 
night  when  Gideon  went  again  with  his 
soldiers  to  the  camp  of  the  Midianites.  The 
soldiers  stood  around  the  camp,  and  when 
Gideon  commanded,  they  blew  with  the  trum- 
pets, and  broke  the  pitchers,  and  cried  aloud, 
"  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon.'' 
The  Midianites  heard  the  noise  and  the 
shout,  and  were  struck  with  fear.  They  knew 
not  what  to  do.  They  ran  like  mad  men. 
They  fell  one  upon  another,  killing  their  own 
friends,  and  fathers,  and  brothers  ;  and  those 
who  were  not  killed  fled  away ;  and  the 
Israelites  followed  after  these  and  killed  them. 
The  Israelites  were  grateful  for  what 
Gideon  had  done  for  them.  "  Come  and  rule 


it' 


THE    M1D1ANITES    1'UT   TO    FLIGHT. 


STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLK  187 

over  us,"  they  said,  "  and  be  our  king,  and  we 
will  serve  and  obey  thee."  But  Gideon  was 
not  an  ambitious  man ;  he  wanted  neither 
power,  riches,  nor  possessions.  So,  when  the 
Israelites  asked  Gideon  to  be  their  king,  he 
said,  "  No,  I  do  not  wish  to  rule  over  you ; 
the  Lord  only  is  your  king;  obey  Him. 
But  give  me  if  ye  will  the  earrings  and  gold 
chains  that  were  taken  from  the  enemies." 
11  Yes,  we  will  willingly  give  them,"  the 
people  said.  And  they  spread  out  a  large 
garment  and  threw  into  it  all  the  earrings 
and  chains  they  had,  and  with  them  purple 
garments  and  many  more  beautiful  thini^. 
Gideon  made  them  into  an  ephod  like  Aaron's 
ephod;  and  this  he  took  into  his  own  city 
Ophrah.  The  ephod  Gideon  made  in  remem- 
brance of  his  victory.  After  Gideon  was 
dead,  the  Israelites  again  forgot  God,  and 
worshipped  idols. 


DEATH    OF  ABIMELECH. 


ABIMELECH. 

Gideon  had  many  sons,  but  they  were  n<>t 
like  him.  The  name  of  one  was  Abimelech. 
He  was  a  most  ambitious  man,  and  aspired 
to  be  king.  He  went  to  Shechem  and  asked 
to  be  made  king  over  that  city.  The  men 
of  Shechem  were  pleased  with  Abimelech* 
and  they  attended  to  what  he  said,  and  gave 
him  much  gold,  promising  to  make  him  king. 

Then  he  went  home  to  Ophrah,  and,  cruel, 
ambitious  man  that  he  was,  he  called  his 
brothers  together  and  killed  them, —  all  but 
the  youngest,  named  Jotham,  who  hid  him- 
self and  escaped.  Now,  why  did  Abimelech 
kill  his  brothers?  It  was  because  they  might 
wish  to  reign  too,  and  he  was  determined  to 
reign  alone. 


190  STORIES   OP   THE   BIBLE. 

The  men  of  Shechem  made  Abimelech 
king.  But  the  people  in  that  city  soon  grew 
tired  of  their  king  He  was  cruel  and  greedy 
and  unjust.  They  rebelled,  and  refused  to 
obey  Abimelech.  So  Abimelech  came  and 
fought  against  them  and  conquered  them. 
Some  of  the  Shechemites  escaped  to  an  idol 
temple,  and  hid  there.  But  Abimelech  and 
his  soldiers  cut  down  the  boughs  from  the 
tree  and  put  the  boughs  under  the  place 
where  the  people  were  hid,  and  set  it  on  fire; 
so  that  the  people  were  all  burned  to  death. 

Then  Abimelech  went  to  a  city  named 
Thebez,  and  tried  to  take  it.  The  people  in 
Thebez  had  gone  up  to  a  high,  strong  tower. 
Abimelech  was  under  the  tower  fighting 
against  it,  when  a  woman  on  the  top  of  the 
tower  took  a  large  mill-stone  and  threw  it 
down  upon  Abimelech's  head.  Abimelech  was 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  i;,l 

severely  crushed  by  the  stone.  When  he 
knew  he  must  soon  die,  he  cried  to  a  soldier 
near  him,  " Thrust-  thy  sword  into  me  and 
slay  me ;  for  I  will  not  let  the  people  say 
that  a  woman  killed  me."  So  the  soldier 
thrust  his  sword  into  him,  and  Abimelech 
fell  down  dead. 

At  this  time  there  was  a  man  in  Gilead 
named  Jephthah.  He  was  most  brave  and 
warlike;  but  his  brothers  hated  him.  They 
would  not  let  him  live  with  them,  but  sent 
him  away.  Some  years  after,  when  the 
Ammonites  came  and  fought  against  Israel, 
the  men  of  Gilead  were  frightened,  and  they 
sent  for  Jephthah  to  help  them  conquer  their 
enemies.  When  Jephthah  heard  what  the 
messengers  said,  he  answered,  "  Why  do  you 
come  to  me  now  when  you  are  in  trouble?' 
But  the  Gileadites  promised  to  make  Jephthah 


192  STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 

their  captain  if  he  would  come ;  so  Jephthah 
forgave  their  past  unkindness  and  went  to 
their  aid. 

The  Ammonites  were  very  wicked  people. 
They  had  always  been  enemies  to  Israel. 
Jephthah  told  the  Ammonites  that  God  had 
commanded  that  they  be  destroyed,  and  had 
promised  to  give  their  possessions  to  the 
Israelites  ;  but  they  would  not  listen.  Then 
Jephthah  made  ready  to  fight  against  them. 
But  before  he  went  to  the  battle,  he  asked 
God's  help,  and  made  this  promise :  "  If  Thou 
wilt  give  me  the  victory,  then  the  first  thing 
I  meet  at  the  door  of  my  house,  when  I 
return  in  peace,  shall  be  the  Lord's ;  and  I 
will  offer  it  up  for  a  burnt-offering." 

Then  Jephthah  went  into  battle;  the 
Ammonites  were  conquered,  and  very  many 
of  them  killed.  But  when  the  battle  was 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  193 

ended,  Jephthah  went  home  u^ain  to  Mi/pah. 
Jephthah  had  one  child,  a  daughter,  who  was 
very  dear  to  him.  This  little  daughter  loved 
her  father,  and  when  she  heard  of  the  victory, 
she  knew  she  should  soon  see  her  dear  father. 
So  she  waited  and  watched  for  him,  and  when 
she  saw  him  coming,  she  ran  out  to  meet 
him,  dancing  and  singing  for  joy.  Alas!  alas! 
Jephthah  rent  his  clothes  and  cried,  "O  my 
daughter,  my  daughter !  I  have  made  a  promise 
to  the  Lord,  and  I  cannot  break  my  vow!" 
But  the  daughter  said,  "  My  father,  do  not 
weep ;  if  thou  hast  made  a  vow  to  the  Lord, 
do  as  thou  hast  promised.  God  has  been 
very  merciful  to  us,  and  I  am  ready  and  will- 
ing to  help  bear  all  thou  hast  vowed  to  do." 
Jephthah  thought  now  of  his  foolish  vow, 
and  O  how  sorry  he  was  that  he  had  made 
it!  He  must  give  up  his  dear  daughter  and 


194  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

never  see  her  again  !  But  when  he  told  her 
what  he  had  vowed,  she  asked  to  be  allowed 
to  go  upon  the  mountains  to  mourn  there  with 
her  friends.  After  two  months  she  came 
home  again,  and  Jephthah  did  with  her  as  he 
had  vowed. 


Though  the  virgins  of   Salem  lament, 
Be  the  judge  and  the  hero  unbent ; 
I  have  won  the  great  battle  for  thee, 
And  my  father  and  country  are  free. 
When  this  blood  of  thy  giving  has  gushed, 
When  the  voice  that  thou  lovest  is  hushed, 
Let  my  memory  still  be  thy  pride, 
And  forget  not  I  smiled  as  I  died. 


THE    STORY  OF  SAMSON. 

Would  any  strive  with  Samson  for  renown, 

Whose  brawny  arm  can  strike  most  pillars  down? 

Preserve  he  then  unstained  in  his  breast 

A  milk-white  conscience ;  let  his  soul  be  blest 

With  simple  innocence ;  this  sevenfold  shield 

No  dart  shall  pierce,  no  sword  shall  make  it  yield  ;  — 

Well  guarded  with  himself  he  walks  along, 

When  most  alone,  he  stands  a  thousand  strong. 

After  this  Jephthah  judged  Israel  six 
years  and  then  died.  And  now  again  the 
people  began  to  sin  against  the  Lord;  and  He, 
to  recall  them  again,  gave  them  up  to  their 
enemies,  the  Philistines,  for  forty  years.  This 
was  a  long  time  to  be  in  sorrow  and  trouble ; 
but  did  not  the  Israelites  deserve  their  punish- 
ment? 

There  was  a  good  man  in  the  tribe  of 
Dan,  named  Manoah.  One  day  an  angel  of 


i  •.».-, 


190  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

the  Lord  appeared  to  Manoah's  wife  and  said, 
"  Soon  God  will  give  thee  a  son,  who  shall 
deliver  Israel  from  the  Philistines.  No  razor 
must  come  upon  him,  for  he  shall  be  a  Nazar- 
ite  unto  God."  Now,  the  Nazarites  were  people 
who  had  made  a  vow  to  give  themselves  to 
God.  They  did  not  drink  wine,  nor  any 
strong  liquor ;  and  they  never  cut  their  hair 
or  shaved  their  beards. 

Manoah's  wife  wondered  very  much  to 
hear  what  the  angel  said,  and  she  went  and 
told  her  husband.  It  seemed  very  strange; 
still  Manoah  knew  that  nothing  was  too 
wonderful  for  God  to  do ;  and  he  was  thankful 
for  God's  promise  to  deliver  Israel.  '  But 
Manoah,  fearful  lest  he  and  his  wife  might 
forget  what  the  angel  had  said  and  not  bring 
up  their  child  rightly,  prayed  God  to  send 
the  angel  to  them  again. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  I'.iT 

A  few  days  after,  the  woman  was  sitting 
alone  in  the  field,  and  she  looked  up  and  saw 
the  angel  again  standing  by  her.  She  ran  and 
called  her  husband;  and  Manoah,  following  his 
wife,  came  to  the  angel  and  asked,  "  What 
shall  we  do  to  the  child  when  he  is  born  ? " 
The  angel  repeated  what  he  had  told  the 
woman  before.  Then  Manoah  said,  "  Stay 
here  till  we  have  made  ready  a  kid  for  thee. ' 
The  angel  answered,  "  I  will  not  eat  of  thy 
bread  ;  and  if  thou  wilt  offer  a  sacrifice,  offer 
it  to  God." 

Manoah  wondered  who  the  angel  was ;  so 
he  asked  again,  "  What  is  thy  name  ?  "  But 
the  angel  answered,  "  Why  dost  thou  ask  my 
name?  "  It  is  a  very  secret  and  a  very  wonder- 
ful name.  Then  Manoah  offered  a  kid  in 
sacrifice  to  the '  Lord  upon  the  rock,  and  (i<»d 
sent  fire  upon  the  sacrifice  to  consume  it 


198  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Manoah  and  his  wife  looked  at  the  angel, 
and  they  saw  him  going  up  to  Heaven  in  the 
flame  of  fire.  Then  they  both  fell  upon  their 
faces  in  holy  fear  and  wonder ;  and  Manoah 
said,  "  Now  we  shall  die,  because  we  have  seen 
God."  The  woman  said  to  her  husband,  "  Do 
not  be  afraid.  God  has  shown  us  wonderful 
things ;  he  has  accepted  our  sacrifice,  and 
surely  he  cannot  wish  to  hurt  or  frighten  us/' 

Manoah  and  his  wife  never  again  saw  the 
angel  of  the  Lord;  but  God  remembered  His 
promise,  and  very  soon  there  came  to  them  a 
little  son,  whom  they  called  Samson.  Samson's 
parents  were  very  careful  to  attend  to  God's 
commands  regarding  him.  They  remembered 
that  he  was  to  be  given  to  God  ;  that  he  was 
to  be  a  Nazarite ;  that  he  must  drink  no  wine ; 
that  he  must  not  shave  his  head,  nor  cut  his 
hair. 


STORIES   OF  THE   BIBLE.  19!) 

Samson  grew  to  be  wonderfully  strong. 
Great  strength  had  been  given  him  because  he 
had  much  to  do;  for  he  was  to  deliver  Israel 
from  the  Philistines.  When  Samson  was 
grown  up,  he  went  to  Timnath  with  his  father 
and  mother,  to  marry  a  young  woman  who  was 
a  Philistine.  As  he  passed  the  vineyards  at 
Timnath,  a  lion  rushed  out  of  the  woods  and 
roared  at  him.  But  Samson  was  a  very  bold 
man.  He  ran  at  the  lion  and  tore  it  in  pieces, 
without  stick,  or  sword,  or  spear-  -by  his  own 
great  strength  alone.  Samson  said  nothing  of 
this  to  his  father  or  mother,  but  went  on  and 
came  to  Timnath. 

After  a  time  Samson  passed  again  along 
the  place  where  he  had  killed  the  lion,  and  it 
came  to  him  to  go  and  look  at  the  dead  body 
of  the  animal.  He  saw  a  strange  sight. 
Some  wild  bees  had  made  their  home  in  the 


SAMSON  SLAYING  A  LION. 


STORIKS   OF    THE    IUBLK.  201 

lion,  and  Samson  found  much  honey  then-. 
He  took  it  and  ate  it,  and  gave  some  to  his 
father  and  mother;  but  he  did  not  tell  them 
where  he  had  found  it. 

Once  Samson  made  a  feast  at  Timnath ; 
and  when  the  company  were  all  talking 
merrily  together,  he  said,  "  I  will  give  you  a 
riddle  to  guess ;  if  you  guess  right,  I  will  give 
you  thirty  sheets  and  thirty  garments ;  but  if 
you  cannot  guess,  you  shall  give  me  thirty 
sheets  and  thirty  garments."  Then  the  people 
said,  "  Tell  us  the  riddle,  and  we  will  try  to 
guess  it.  So  Samson  said,  "  Out  of  the  eater 
came  forth  meat ;  and  out  of  the  strong  came 
forth  sweetness."  Now,  the  eater  was  the 
strong  lion  ;  and  the  meat  was  the  sweet  honey 
Samson  found  in  it;  but  no  one  knew  the 
story  of  the  lion,  and  they  could  not  guess  the 
riddle.  They  .tried  six  days,  and  then  they 


202  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

called  in  their  friend,  Samson's  wife,  and  said, 
''  Ask  Samson  to  explain  the  riddle  to  thee, 
else  we  will  burn  thee  and  thy  father's  house 
with  fire." 

The  woman  then  begged  so  hard  and 
long  for  her  husband  to  tell  her  that,  at  last, 
he  explained  the  riddle  to  her;  and  she 
forthwith  went  and  told  the  Philistines. 
Then  they  came  to  Samson  and  said,  "  What 
is  so  strong  as  a  lion,  and  wrhat  is  so  sweet  as 
honey  ?  "  But  Samson  quietly  said,  "  My  wife 
told  you,  else  you  could  never  have  guessed 
my  riddle." 

Samson  was  obliged,  however,  to  give 
what  he  had  promised  to  the  men  who  found 
out  the  riddle.  But  he  got  the  garments  in  a 
strange  way.  He  went  down  to  Askelon  and 
killed  thirty  men  of  the  Philistines  and  took 
from  them  the  things  he  wanted  to  give  to  the 
men  who  told  the  riddle. 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  203 

Soon  after,  Samson's  wife  went  away 
from  him,  and  it  was  then  that  Samson  began 
his  war  upon  the  Philistines.  He  caught  300 
foxes  and  tied  firebrands  to  their  tails,  and 
drove  them  into  the  corn  fields  belonging  to 
the  Philistines.  All  the  corn  and  vineyards 
and  olives  were  burned  of  course. 

Then  the  Philistines  asked,  "Who  did 
this?"  The  people  said,  "Samson  did  it, 
because  his  wife  has  been  taken  away."  Then 
the  Philistines  went  and  burned  Samson's 
wife  and  her  father  with  fire.  Samson  was 
now  still  more  angry.  He  killed  a  great 
number  of  the  Philistines,  and  then  went  to 
the  top  of  a  rock  and  lived  there  alone. 

The  Philistines  now  went  to  fight  against 
Judah.  "  We  must  have  Samson,  and  bind 
him,  and  take  him  prisoner,"  they  said.  The 
people  of  Judah  were  frightened;  they  ran  to 


SAMSON    UESTKOY1NG    THE    1'HILISTINES    \\ITH    THK     I 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIBLE.  205 

Samson  and  said,  "We  are  come  to  bind  thee; 
we  will  not  kill  thee;  but  we  will  give  thee 
into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines."  Then  they 
bound  him  with  two  new  ropes  and  led  him 
away.  But  Samson  had  strength  to  break  the 
ropes,  and  he  soon  escaped;  then,  picking  up 
the  jawbone  of  an  ass,  which  he  found  on  the 
way  as  he  ran,  he  killed  1,000  men  of  the 
Philistines  with  it. 

After  this  slaughter,  Samson  was  most 
thirsty.  He  cried  to  God  and  asked  for  water, 
that  he  might  not  die  of  thirst.  Then  water 
sprang  up  like  a  well,  and  Samson  drank  and 
became  strong  again. 

Samson  had  been  raised  up  to  deliver  his 
country  from  the  Philistines,  and  so  to  him 
was  given  great  strength,  and  boldness  and 
courage  to  do  it. 

Soon   after,  Samson   went  to  Gaza.     The 


206  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

people  heard  he  was  there,  and  they  waited 
quietly  for  him  all  night.  "  In  the  morning 
we  shall  kill  him,"  they  said.  But  Samson 
arose  in  the  night  and  went  to  the  gate  of  the 
city,  and  took  it  up,  and  the  posts,  and  the  bar, 
and  carried  them  upon  his  shoulders  to  the 
top  of  the  hill  near  Hebron. 

Samson  had  now  another  wife.  Her 
name  was  Deliah.  The  Philistines  needed 
very  much  to  know  wherein  Samson's  great 
strength  lay.  So  they  went  to  Deliah  and 
said,  "  Ask  Samson  what  makes  him  so 
strong.  Learn  how  we  can  bind  him  ;  and  we 
will  each  give  thee  noo  pieces  of  silver." 
Deliah  did  not  love  her  husband  as  she  loved 
money  ;  so  she  went  to  Samson  and  begged 
him  to  tell  her  what  made  him  so  strong. 
Samson  did  not  mean  to  tell  her;  so  he 
deceived  her,  and  said,  "  Let  them  bind  me 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIBLE.  207 

with  seven  fresh  green  withes."  Deliah  told 
the  Philistines,  and  they  brought  the  withes, 
and  she  bound  Samson  with  them,  while  the 
Philistines  were  hiding  in  the  room. 

Then  Deliah  cried,  "The  Philistines  are 
upon  thee,  Samson!"  Samson  bounded  up, 
broke  the  withes,  and  the  defeated  Philistines 
ran  away.  Again  Deliah  asked  Samson  to 
tell  her  what  made  him  so  strong;  and  he 
said,  "  Let  them  bind  me  with  new  ropes." 
Deliah  bound  him  with  the  ropes  and  cried 
again,  "  The  Philistines  are  upon  thee, 
Samson  !  "  Then  Samson  sprang  up,  broke 
the  ropes  like  little  threads,  and  escaped  again. 

Then  Deliah  said,  "  Now  do  not  deceive 
me  ;  but  tell  me  the  truth.  How  can  I  bind 
thee?"  He  said,  "  Weave  the  hair  of  my 
head  with  the  web."  When  Samson  was 
asleep,  Deliah  wove  his  hair  and  fastened  it 


SAMSON   ANP   PEULAH. 


STORIES  OF   THE   HI  Hi  200 

most  strongly.  Then  she  said,  "  The  Philis- 
tines are  upon  thee  !  "  And  he  awoke,  bounded 
up,  and  went  away  with  the  pin,  and  the  beam, 
and  the  web. 

Then  Deliah  said,  "  Why  hast  thou 
deceived  me  these  three  times  ?  Tell  me  now 
where  thy  great  strength  lies."  Samson  was 
tired  of  his  wife's  asking  him  so  often  ;  so  he 
said,  "  I  am  a  Nazarite  to  God  I  I  have  never 
shaven  my  head  ;  but,  if  my  hair  is  cut  off, 
then  I  shall  become  weak  like  other  men." 

Then  Deliah  sent  to  the  Philistines  and 
said,  "  Come  once  again ;  Samson  has  told  me 
the  truth ;  I  know  now  what  it  is  makes  him 
so  strong."  The  lords  of  the  Philistines  were 
glad  enough  to  think  that  soon  they  might 
have  their  enemy  in  their  power.  They  came 
at  once,  and  brought  money  with  them  to  give 
to  Ueliah.  Then  the  cruel  wife,  when  Samson 


210  STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE. 

was  asleep,  called  a  man  and  told  him  to  shave 
off  Samson's  hair.  When  he  had  finished, 
Deliah  cried,  "  The  Philistines  are  upon  thee, 
Samson !  " 

Samson  arose,  but  alas,  his  strength  was 
gone !  He  could  not  defend  himself  now ! 
His  enemies  came  and  took  him,  and  put  out 
his  eyes,  and  bound  him  in  chains,  and  carried 
him  to  Gaza,  and  made  him  work  hard  in  the 
prison  there. 

Samson  was  now  in  prison  at  Gaza,  alone 
and  blind,  without  any  friend  to  comfort  him. 
When  he  first  went  to  prison,  his  strength  was 
all  gone;  but,  after  a  time,  his  hair  began  to 
grow,  and  his  strength  came  again.  Now,  the 
Philistines  worshipped  an  ugly  idol,  shaped  like 
a  fish,  and  named  Dagon.  They  made  a  great 
sacrifice  to  Dagon  and  praised  him,  because 
they  thought  he  had  given  Samson  into  their 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  211 

hands.  They  were  very  merry,  playing,  and 
laughing,  and  feasting,  and  praising  their  idol; 
and  they  said,  "  Let  us  call  Samson,  and  we 
will  play  with  him,  and  laugh  at  him,  and 
make  merry." 

Then  poor  Samson  was  led  in.  He  could 
not  see  his  cruel  enemies,  and  they  all  laughed 
at  him,  because  he  was  blind  and  wreak  and  in 
their  power;  and  they  made  him  stand 
between  two  pillars.  The  house  in  which 
they  were  feasting  was  very  large  and  full  of 
people.  Three  thousand  of  them  were  upon 
the  roof,  looking  and  wondering  at  Samson. 
Samson  asked  the  boy  who  led  him  in  to  let 
him  rest  againt  the  pillars  on  which  the  house 
stood.  Then  he  seized  one  with  his  right 
hand  and  the  other  with  his  left  hand.  "  Lord, 
give  me  now  strength  to  conquer  my  enemies; 
Let  them  die,  and  let  me  die  with  them," 


13EATH    OF   SAMSON. 


STORIES   OF  THE  BIP.I.K. 


213 


Samson  said.  Then  he  bowed  himself  down 
with  all  his  might  and  broke  the  pillars. 
They  fell,  and  the  house  with  them  ;  and  the 
people  who  were  upon  the  roof  were  crushed ; 
and  Samson  died  with  them. 


THE   STORY  OF  RUTH  AND    NAOMI. 

There  dwelt  in  Bethlehem  in-these  days  a 
good  man  named  Elimelech,  with  his  wife 
Naomi  and  their  two  sons,  Mahlon  and 
Chilion.  All  their  days  these  people  had 
dwelt  in  the  land,  and  always  faithful  had  they 
been  to  the  God  of  Israel. 

But  there  came  into  the  land  a  great 
famine.  For  days  and  weeks  no  rain  fell ;  the 
trees  were  dropping  their  leaves ;  the  grasses 
were  dry  and  brown ;  and  the  corn  lay  wilted 
in  the  fields. 

Everywhere  there  was  suffering  among 
the  people  ;  starvation  was  upon  them,  and  the 
fathers  of  the  little  children  could  bring  no 
food  to  them. 


214 


STORIES   OF   THK    BIBLE.  215 

11  My  wife  and  children  must  have  food ! " 
Elimelech  cried.  And  so  it  came  about  that. 
when  this  famine  was  abroad  in  the  land, 
Elimelech  and  his  family  went  to  Moab  to 
live.  And  when  they  had  come  into  Moab, 
Mahlon  and  Chilion  chose  for  their  wives 
Ruth  and  Orpah  from  the  women  of  Moab, 
idolaters  though  they  were. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  Mahlon  and 
Chilion,  and  Elimelech,  4oo,  died,  and  Naomi 
was  left  alone  with  Ruth  and  Orpah. 

They  were  kind  to  Naomi,  for  they  loved 
her  well.  Still,  Naomi's  heart  longed  for  her 
own  old  home  and  for  the  people  she  had  left 
there;  and  so  (the  days  of  mourning  over) 
Naomi  said  to  Ruth  and  Orpah,  "  Dear 
daughters,  now  will  I  return  to  my  own  land. 
You  have  been  very  kind  to  me,  and  gladly 
would  I  take  you  with  me." 


NAOMI    A  NO    MKK    DAUGHTEK-1N-I.A  \V. 


STORIES   OF   THE    KIKLE.  217 

Then  Ruth  and  Orpah  wept  and  lugged 
her  to  stay  with  them.  Hut  when  they  saw 
she  would  not,  then  they  wanted  to  go  with 
her. 

Naomi  would  have  been  so  happy  to  take 
them  with  her!  But  she  feared  they  might 
be  sorry  by  and  by- should  they  g£>  into  a  IH  \\ 
land.  So  she  said,  "  No,  my  daughtersrgo  «*t 
with  me.  Live  here  in  your  own  country  and 
among  your  own  people.-  Here  are  your 
parents  and  your  friends ;  and  may  God  deal 
kindly  with  you  as  you  have  dealt  with  me." 

Then  Naomi  kissed  them  and  bade  them 
good-bye ;  but  they  went  out  from  the  village 
with  her,  saying,  "  Surely  we  may  go  with  thee 
to  Bethlehem." 

But  when  they  were  far  out  across  the 
country,  then  Naomi  turned  again  and  bade 
them  return  »ew  to  their  people. 


218  STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE. 

Then  Orpah  kissed  Naomi  and  turned 
back  to  her  own  city.  But  Ruth  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  go  a  little  farther. 

"  Nay,  nay,"  Naomi  said ;  "  go  back, 
Ruth,  with  Orpah.  See,  she  is  already  far 
back  upon  the  road." 

But  Ruth  fell  at  Naomi's  feet  and  cried 
aloud.  "  O,  send  me  not  away  from  thee  I 
Let  me  follow  thee !  Where  thou  goest,  I 
will  go.  Thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and 
thy  God  my  God.  Where  thou  diest  I  will 
die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried.  Death  only 
shall  part  thee  and  me !  " 

Then  old  Naomi's  heart  grew  glad ;  for 
she  loved  Ruth  and  longed  to  take  her  with 
her.  Then  the  two  women  walked  on,  and  in 
time  they  came  into  the  village  of  Bethlehem. 

And  as  they  neared  Bethlehem,  the  old 
friends  of  Naomi  came  out  and  said,  "  Can 
this  be  Naomi? " 


STORIES   OF   THE  BIBLE.  219 

For  Naomi  had  gone  out  from  the  city 
happy,  with  her  husband  and  sons  with  her. 
But  now  they  were  all  dead  ;  and  Naomi  was 
returning,  a  lonely,  sad  woman. 

It  was  the  harvest  time  when  Naomi  and 
Ruth  came  into  Bethlehem;  and,  when  Ruth 
saw  the  gleaners  at  work,  she  said,  "  Let  me 
not  be  idle  ;  let  me  go  forth  into  the  fields  to 


Now,  Ruth  knew  no  one  among  the 
gleaners  ;  but,  when  she  came  into  the  field, 
and  the  gleaners  looked  upon  her  sweet  face, 
they  loved  her  at  once  and  gladly  took  her 
into  the  field  with  them. 

This  field  in  which  Ruth  gleaned  belonged 
to  a  rich  man,  named  Boaz  ;  and,  when  Boaz 
saw  Ruth  at  work,  he  said  kindly,  "  Stay  here 
with  my  maidens  and  glean  in  my  field. 
Follow  them  and  glean  after  the  reapers. 


HOAX    AND   RUTH. 


STORIES  OF   THE   BIHLE.  -_>.M 

And  \\hen  thou  art  thirsty,  then  go  and  drink 
of  the  water  which  my  servants  have  brought." 

Ruth  Pondered  at  the  kindness  of  Boaz 
and  said,  "  Why  dost  thou  show  such  kindness 
to  me,  a  stranger?" 

And  Boaz  smiled  kindly  upon  Ruth  and 
said,  "  Because  I  have  heard  of  thy  love  for 
Naomi ;  and  that  thou  hast  left  thy  home  to 
come  with  her  and  live  among  her  people. 
May  God  bless  and  reward  thee ! " 

By  and  by  it  came  the  time  when  all  the 
gleaners  stopped  their  work  and  ate  their 
noonday  meal.  Kindly  the  maidens  took 
Ruth  with  them,  and  they  ate  together.  But 
when  Ruth  had  had  her  share  given  her,  she 
laid  aside  a  part  and  carried  it  home  to 
Naomi. 

"  Where  hast  thou  gleaned  to-day?" 
Naomi  asked. 


222  STORIES   OF  THE  BIBLE. 

And  when  Ruth  told  her  she  had  gleaned 

in  the  field  of  Boaz,  and  how  kindly  he  had 

• 
welcomed    her,    then    Naomi    was    filled   with 

gladness ;  for  Boaz  was  of  the  family  of 
Elimelech ;  and  she  knew  that  now  he  would 
be  kind  to  them  and  not  allow  suffering  and 
hunger  to  come  to  them. 

All  the  long  beautiful  autumn  Ruth 
gleaned  in  the  fields  of  Boaz  ;  and  each  day 
Boaz  loved  Ruth  more  and  more,  so  gentle 
and  kind  was  she. 

Then,  when  the  harvest  was  over,  Boaz 
came  to  Naomi  and  told  her  that  in  Canaan 
there  was  land  that  belonged  to  Elimelech ; 
and  that  he  would  buy  this  land  and  take 
Ruth  and  Naomi  to  his  home. 

Then  Ruth  and  Boaz  married ;  and  by 
and  by  a  little  child  was  born  to  them.  How 
much  Naomi  loved  this  little  baby !  How 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 


223 


tenderly  she  nursed  it;*and  how  carefully  she 
taught  it  as  it  grew  into  boyhood ! 

And  so  these  people  lived  together  until 
Naomi  grew  old  and  died.  Then  Ruth  and 
Boaz,  who  had  loved  her  and  cared  for  her  all 
these  years,  mourned  for  her,  and  buried  her 
tenderly  beside  her  own  people  in  the  land 
that  had  been  her  father's-- the  land  she  had 
loved  so  well. 


SAMfFCT.    1'KESKNTKO    TO    KM.       (, 


THE    STORY  OF    SAMUEL. 

At  Mount  Ephraim  there  dwelt  a  man, 
named  Elkanah,  with  his  good  wife,  Hannah. 

These  good  people  had  one  son,  Samuel, 
whom  they  loved  with  great  tenderness.  He 
was  their  only  child;  but,  though  they  loved 
him  so,  they  carried  him  when  he  was  yet  a 
tiny  boy  to  the  temple  and  left  him  with  the 
holy  priests. 

"  Here  is  my  child,"  the  good  mother  said. 
"I  give  him  now  to  our  God,  the -God  of 
Israel.  So  long  as  he  lives  shall  he  be  the 
Lord's." 

Then  the  priest,  E!i,  took  the'  child  and 
blessed  it,  and  blessed  the  mother  too;  and 


225 


226  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Samuel  grew  up  a  true,  honest  boy,  and  came 
in  time  to  be  himself  a  holy  priest. 

One  night,  when  Samuel  lay  upon  his 
bed,  he  heard  a  voice  calling,  "  Samuel, 
Samuel ! " 

"  Here  am  I,  Eli,"  Samuel  answered;  for 
he  thought  it  was  the  voice  of  the  priest. 

But  Eli  said,  "  No,  my  son,  I  did  not  call 
thee." 

And  Samuel  went  and  lay  down  upon  his 
bed  again. 

Again  the  voice  called,  "Samuel,  Samuel ! " 

And  again  Samuel  ran  to  Eli's  bedside, 
saying,  "  Here  am  I,  Eli." 

A  third  time,  even,  the  voice  called.  A 
third  time  Samuel  ran  to  Eli's  bedside. 

"  Samuel,"  Eli  said,  when  the  lad  came  a 
third  time,  "  it  may  be  it  is  the  voice  of  the 
Lord.  Go  back  to  thy  bed ;  and  if  it  speaks 


STORIES   OF    THK   RIBLE.  227 

again,  say,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant 
heareth." 

Samuel  obeyed ;  and  a  fourth  time  the 
voice  called. 

Then  Samuel  answered  as  Eli  bade  him. 
And  the  voice  then  said,  "  Lo,  I  am  about  to 
punish  Eli  and  his  sons ;  for  the  sons  are 
wicked  and  Eli  punishes  them  not." 

Now,  these  sons  were  priests  in  the 
temple  with  their  father,  and  Eli  knew  full 
well  that  they  were  wicked  men.  Still, 
because  they  were  his  own  sons,  and  he  loved 
them,  he  had  not  driven  them  forth  from  the 
temple. 

Poor  old  Eli  was  sad  when  Samuel  told 
him  what  the  voice  had  said  to  him  ;  but  he 
bowed  his  head  and  said,  "  It  is  the  voice  of 
God  that  hath  spoken.  Let  him  do  with  me 
what  seemeth  to  him  wise  and  good." 


228  STOREES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Then  came  a  great  battle  between  the 
Philistines  and  the  Israelites ;  and  in  this 
battle  the  Israelites  were  beaten,  and  the  two 
sons  of  Eli  slain. 

Eli  was  too  old  to  go  himself  into  the 
battle,  and  so  he  sat  at  the  gate  of  the  city 
and  waited  with  the  people  for  news  of  the 
battle. 

At  last  a  man  came  running.  His  clothes 
were  rent,  and  there  was  dust  upon  his  head, 
and  from  this  the  people  knew  that  he  brought 
sad  news  only. 

Then  they  set  up  a  weeping  and  wailing ; 
and  old  Eli,  whose  eyes  were  dim  with  age, 
said,  "What  is  this  noise  I  hear?  Why  do 
the  people  cry  ?  " 

Then  the  messenger  said,  "  I  have  just 
•come  from  the  battle-field." 

Eli's  heart  beat  fast.     "  Tell  me,"  he  cried 


STORIES    OF    THE   BIBLE.  229 

with  trembling  voice,  "  what  has  happened 
there  ?  " 

The  messenger  dreaded  to  tell  the  old 
priest  the  sad  news ;  but  he  said,  "  Alas  !  alas  ! 
the  Israelites  are  conquered !  Your  own  sons 
have  fallen ;  and  even  the  Ark  which  the 
Israelites  carried  into  battle  has  been  taken  ! " 

Poor  old  Eli !  This  was  more  than  he 
could  bear.  The  Ark  taken !  And  the  old 
man  threw  up  his  hands  and  fell  back,  dead. 

Now,  the  Ark  was  taken  by  the  Philistines 
to  one  of  their  own  heathen  temples,  and  one 
of  their  idols  was  set  upon  it. 

The  Philistines  thought  the  Ark  was  one 
of  the  gods  of  the  Israelites,  just  as  their  idols 
were  their  gods ;  so  they  set  it  up  on  their 
altar,  and  it  was  their  chief  god,  Dagon  they 
called  it,  that  they  set  beside  it. 

But  when  the   Philistines  went  into  their 


230  STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLE. 

temple  the  morning  after  the  battle,  there  lay 
Dagon  upon  the  floor. 

"  This  is  strange !  "  they  said ;  and  they 
put  the  idol  back  upon  the  Ark  again. 

The  next  morning,  again  was  the  idol 
found  upon  the  floor,  its  hands  and  its  head 
broken. 

Then  a  dreadful  plague  settled  upon  the 
people.  "  It  is  the  idol  of  the  Israelites  that 
has  done  all  this  !  "  the  people  cried.  "  Let  us 
send  it  away  !  " 

So  the  Ark  was  sent  to  Gath ;  but  there 
a  plague  fell  upon  the  people. 

"  We  will  not  have  it  among  us  ! "  the 
people  of  Gath  cried ;  so  they  sent  it  on  to 
Ekron. 

But  when  the  people  of  Ekron  saw  it 
coming,  they  cried  out,  "  Take  away  this  idol 
of  the  Israelites  !  We  fear  the  plague  that  is 
sure  to  come  with  it !  " 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  231 

At  last  the  Philistines  said,  "  We  will  not 
have  it  in  our  land."  So  they  placed  it  upon 
a  cart,  and  they  fastened  two  cattle  to  the  cart. 
Then  they  set  the  cart  upon  a  road  leading 
towards  Bethshemesh  and  bade  the  oxen  go. 

The  oxen,  obedient,  carried  the  Ark-  out 
upon  the  road,  turning  neither  to  the  right  nor 
to  the  left,  and  straight  into  the  village  of 
Bethshemesh. 

Now,  the  people  of  the  village  were  at 
work  in  their  fields,  for  it  was  harvest  time. 

They  heard  the  coming  of  the  cart  and 
looked.  "  It  is  the  Ark  !  It  is  the  Ark  !  "  they 
cried ;  and  the  Levites  came  and  took  the  Ark 
and  set  it  upon  a  great  stone. 

Then  followed  a  day  of  great  sacrifice  and 
rejoicing.  And  the  Israelites  later  repented  of 
all  their  sins,  and  came  to  Samuel  and  asked 
him  what  they  should  do. 


STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE.  233 

Samuel  called  them  all  to  him  at  Mizpah, 
and  there  he  prayed  for  them  and  taught  them 
wisely  and  well. 

But  as  he  was  teaching  them  and  offering 
sacrifices,  lo !  a  great  army  of  Philistines  drew 
near.  They  had  come  again  to  fight  the 
Israelites. 

But  Samuel  bade  them  have  no  fear;  for 
this  time  it  was  the  Philistines  that  were  to  be 
conquered  and  not  the  Israelites. 

So  the  Israelites  made  ready  for  battle; 
but,  before  they  were  ready,  a  great  black 
cloud  rolled  up  across  the  sky.  The  winds 
blew,  the  hail  fell,  and  the  skies  blazed  with 
terrible  lightnings. 

Never  had  such  a  storm  been  known 
either  to  Philistines  or  Israelites. 

"  Fear  not,"  Samuel  said ;  "  this  is  God's 
hand."  And  the  Philistines  fled  in  terror. 


234  STORIES   OF   THE    BIBLE. 

Then,  when  the  storm  was  over,  and 
again  the  sun  shone  out,  Samuel  took  a  great 
stone  and  set  it  up  near  Mizpah;  and  the 
stone  at  Mizpah  was  for  a  sign  to  the  Israel- 
ites that  "  God  shall  watch  ever  over  thee  and 
me." 

And  Samuel  named  the  stone  Ebenezer 
-  which  means,  a  stone  of  help. 

For  many  years  now  Samuel  had  been 
judge  over  Israel;  and  so  long  as  the  people 
obeyed  him  they  were  safe  and  happy. 

But  there  came  a  time  when  Samuel  was 
an  old,  old  man.  Then  the  Israelites  came  to 
him  and  said,  "  Thou  art  very  old  ;  thy  sons, 
who  now  judge  over  us,  are  not  like  thee. 
Let  us  have  a  king." 

But  Samuel  said,  "  God  only  is  the  king 
of  the  Israelites." 

The  people  would  not  listen  to  the  words 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  235 

of  Samuel.  "  We  will  have  a  king,"  they 
said.  "  We  will  be  like  other  nations.  We 
will  have  a  king,  and  he  shall  go  into  battle 
with  us." 

And  so  it  came  about  that  from  out  their 
number  a  king  was  chosen. 

Now,  there  was  a  man  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  who  had  a  son,  named  Saul. 

Saul  was  a  tall,  strong,  brave,  young 
man,  and  of  him  the  Lord  said  to  Samuel, 
"  If  the  Israelites  have  a  king,  let  this  man 
Saul  be  that  king." 

One  day  it  chanced  that  the  cattle 
belonging  to  Kish,  Saul's  father,  strayed 
away;  and  Kish  said  to  Saul,  "Take  a  servant 
with  thee  and  go  and  seek  the  cattle  that  hu\  v 
strayed." 

So  Saul  took  a  servant,  and  they 
searched  the  country  round  about,  going  great 
distances ;  still  the  cattle  could  not  be  found. 


236  STORIES    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

"  At  last  Saul  said  to  the  servant,  "  I 
am  tired  with  this  search.  Let  us  go  back 
and  tell  my  father  all  we  have  done." 

Then  the  servant  said,  "  There  is  a 
prophet  living  near  this  place  into  which  we 
have  come.  Let  us  seek  him ;  for  I  am  told 
he  is  most  wise.  Perhaps  he  may  help  us 
to  find  our  cattle." 

11  Let  us  go  to  him,"  Saul  answered  readily  ; 
and  so  the  two  men  came  into  the  city  where 
Samuel  dwelt ;  for  it  was  he  they  sought. 

As  they  drew  near  the  city,  they  met  two 
young  women  coming  to  a  well  to  draw  water. 

"  Tell  me,  is  the  prophet  here  ? "  Saul 
asked. 

And  the  young  women  said,  "  Yes,  to-day 
he  offers  sacrifice  in  the  city.  First,  he 
blesses  the  sacrifice,  and  then  the  people  feast; 
and  now  he  is  going  towards  the  temple. 
Make  haste  and  you  will  see  him." 


STORIKS    OK    THK    BIBLE.  237 

Saul  and  tin-  servant  hurried  on  towards 
the  gate  of  the  city;  and  there  they  saw  an 
old  man,  sitting  alone. 

"  Tell  us,"  said  Saul,  "  where  we  may  find  . 
the  prophet  Samuel." 

And  the  old  man  answered,  "  I  am 
Samuel.  Come  and  feast  with  me;  and 
to-morrow  thou  shalt  go.  Grieve  not  about 
the  cattle  ;  already  they  are  found.  But  come 
with  me,  for  I  have  much  to  tell  thee.  The 
desire  of  all  Israel  is  upon  thee  and  upon  thy 
father's  house." 

Then  Saul  said,  "  Why  dost  thou  speak 
so  to  me  ?  Knowest  thou  not  that  my  family 
is  one  of  the  least  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  ?  " 

But  Samuel  knew ;  and  he  led  Saul  to  his 
house  and  feasted  him.  And  when  the  feast 
was  over,  Samuel  s  lid  to  Saul,  "  The  people 
of  Israel  desire  a  king  ;  and  it  is  thou,  Saul, 


SAMUEL   BLESSING   SAUL. 


STORIES   OF   THE    HI  MLB. 

whom  the  Lord  has  chosen  to  be  that  king." 
Then,  when  morning  came,  Saul  and  his 
servant  set  out  upon  their  journey  home;  and 
Samuel  went  with  them,  even  unto  the  city 
gates.  Then  Samuel  said  to  the  servant,  "  Go 
on  before.  I  would  speak  once  more  with 
Saul  alone."  And  when  he  had  gone,  Samuel 
poured  oil  upon  the  head  of  Saul  and  kissed 
him,  saying,  "  God  has  chosen  thee  to  be  king 
to  rule  over  his  people  in  Israel." 

Then  Samuel  went  back  to  his  home,  and 
Saul  went  on  his  way.  It  was  to  him  a 
strange  journey  back  to  his  home,  for  God  had 
already  given  him  great  wisdom  and  power. 
Already  the  gift  of  prophecy  was  his ;  and 
when  he  met  a  company  of  prophets,  he  too 
prophesied  with  them  of  things  to  come. 

And  the  people  wondered  to  hear  Saul 
uttering  prophecies.  "What  does  this  mean?" 
they  cried.  "  Is  Saul  also  a  prophet  ?  " 


240  STORIES    OF   THE    BIBLE. 

But  now  Samuel  called  all  the  tribes  of 
Israel  together  at  Mizpah.  "  It  is  your  wish," 
he  said,  "  that  a  king  should  be  chosen  to  rule 
over  you  and  lead  you  forth  into  battle. 
Now,  God  is  not  pleased  that  you  should 
choose  a  king;  for  he  was  himself  your  king. 
Still,  because  it  is  your  wish,  a  king  shall 
be  chosen  by  God.  And  that  man  chosen 
shall  be  Saul. 

"  But  where  is  Saul  ?  "  the  people  asked  ; 
for  nowhere  was  Saul  to  be  found. 

Then  the  Lord  told  the  people  that  Saul 
was  hiding ;  and  he  bade  them  go  and  search 
for  him  in  that  place  which  God  should 
uame. 

The  people  obeyed,  and  Saul  was  found 
and  brought  before  the  people. 

"Is  this  the  man?"  the  people  asked. 
And  the  Lord  said,  "  This  is  the,  man." 


STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE.  241 

Then  the  people  shouted,  and  Saul  was 
made  king  over  the  Israelites. 

Then  Samuel  said  to  the  people,  "  Behold 
I  am  an  old  man.  My  hair  is  white  with  age. 
All  my  life  I  have  been  with  you,  from  the 
time  when  I  was  a  little  child  until  now. 
Tell  me,  have  I  ever  oppressed  you,  or  have  I 
ever  taken  anything  from  you  ?  " 

And  all  the  people  shouted,  "  No !  No ! 
Never!  Never  have  you  oppressed  us  or 
wronged  us  in  any  way ! "  For  the  people 
all  loved  Samuel,  from  the  oldest  to  the 
youngest. 

"  Wait,  then,"  said  Samuel,  "  and  hear 
what  I  would  say  to  you.  Many  years  ago 
God  brought  your  fathers  out  of  Israel  and 
gave  this  land  to  them  for  a  possession. 

"  Often  your  fathers  rebelled  against 
God  ;  and  as  often  he  sent  punishment  upon 


242  STORIES   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

them  that  they  might  turn  back  to  him. 
Sisera  and  the  Philistines  and  the  Moabites 
God  sent  to  fight  against  the  Israelites ;  but 
whenever  they  repented  and  turned  back,  then 
He  forgave  them.  Many  good  captains  He 
sent  them, -- Gideon,  Jepthah  and  Samson. 

"  And  now  you  have  asked  for  a  king, 
and  God  has  given  you  one.  And  so  long  as 
the  king  and  his  people  are  true  to  the  one 
God,  so  long  shall  His  blessing  be  upon  you." 

And  so  ended  that  time  in  the  history  of 
the  children  of  Israel  when  they  were  content 
to  be  ruled  over  by  Judges  chosen  by  God ; 
and  of  these  Judges,  Samuel  was  the  last. 


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JUN   10  1943 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


